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Junius Finally Discovered 

BY 

WILLIAM H. GRAVES, L.B. 
e A X 

BIRMINGHAM 

ALABAMA 




EUREKA" 



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COPYRIGHT, I9IT 
BY 

W. H. GRAVES 



from the press of the 

Dispatch Printing Company 

birmingham, ala. 

APR 23 1817 

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PREFACE 

IN the preparation of this discussion I have thought best to make 
Uberal quotations from the writings of "JUNIUS," SIR PHILIP 
FRANCIS, and from those of the person whom I conceive to be the 
real author of the "JUNIUS LETTERS," whose name I will disclose in a 
subsequent part of this volume. I have made these quotations solely 
for the benefit and convenience of my readers, in order to save them 
the trouble and expense of collecting quite a number of books on the 
subject, most of which are now out of print and very difficult to pro- 
cure. It has taken me quite a while to get these books into my posses- 
sion, and at considerable pains and expense to me, most of them having 
to be imported from London, where they were written and published; 
but I consider that I have been amply repaid, as they have enabled me 
to investigate this abstruse question in all of its phases, which, other- 
wise, I could not have done. The reader being furnished with these 
quotations for ready use and inspection, will be able to compare the 
different styles, sentiments, political opinions, etc., of these writers, the 
aims and objects which they had in view, and in this manner to draw 
his own conclusion upon the subject. 

I hope that my readers will observe that almost every proposition 
laid down by me is sustained by facts, and by history, in which the 
books and pages are cited. That I rarely volunteer an opinion of my 
own, unless it is amply supported by historical facts, or corroborated 
by well-known authors and able critics. If the reader will examine 
the books of Mr. Taylor and H, R. Francis, frequently referred to in 
this discussion, wherein they contend that Sir PhiHp Francis was the 
author of the "Junius Letters," he will discover that almost every one 
of their propositions is founded upon their own opinions, surmises and 
conjectures, without any facts or history to sustain them; the reason 
why, is very evident: there were no facts or history in existence which 
tended to prove their contention. It is impossible to prove a fact 
which does not exist. 

I have also inserted the opinions of several eminent Hterary critics 
on this controversy, in order that my readers may compare them with 
those expressed by me. If my views shall merit and receive the appro- 
bation of those who may follow me through this discussion, I shall feel 
fully compensated for the pains and labor which I have bestowed upon 
this book, regardless of the expense of its publication. 

THE AUTHOR. 



DEDICATION 

As a tribute to the THOMAS PAINE NATIONAL 
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, which has achieved so 
much towards perpetuating the name of the patriotic 
author of the "Common Sense" and "The Crisis" pam- 
phlets, which were written and published by him just be- 
fore and during the dark days of the American Revolution, 
I dedicate this volume. 

The first suggestion ever made to the American Colo- 
nies to assert and fight for their emancipation from the 
tyrannical oppression of Great Britain appeared in these 
pamphlets, which outlined the principles finally incorpor- 
ated in the Declaration of Independence, and which event- 
ually resulted in the achievement by the Colonies of the 
inestimable blessings of Liberty. 



PART I 

JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 
in the person of a very talented Englishman who fought with the 
Americans in the Revolutionary War. 



PART I.— JUNIUS 

"TNOUBTLESS no literary enigma has ever perplexed the 
-'— ^ minds of so many eminent literary critics as the author- 
ship of the celebrated Junius Letters. Sir Harris Nicho- 
las, an eminent writer, says in his "Analysis" of the subject: 
"The extraordinary interest which the community has taken in 
this question, has given birth to at least one hundred vol- 
umes or pamphlets, besides numerous essays and letters in 
magazines and newspapers;" and that a "great and universal 
curiosity is still felt to know who wrote the Letters." 

About forty persons have been suggested by the friends 
of eminent writers as the author of these wonderful letters, 
and all have been successfully eliminated from the contest 
for the honor, in one way and another, by very profound 
critics, except Sir Philip Francis; and still, up to the present 
date, the riddle has never been solved. ''Stat nominis umbra.'' 
If the reader will acquit me of egotism, I believe that I 
can and will unravel the mystery to his entire satisfaction, 
provided he does not expect me to produce positive proof 
from Junius himself that he disclosed his real name; which 
proof has never yet been made, according to all writers on 
the subject. 

On the 21st day of January, 1769, the first one of the 
authentic political letters of Junius appeared in the "Public 
Advertiser," a newspaper owned and published by Henry 
Sampson Woodfall, in the city of London, England, and the 
last one appeared in the same paper on the 21st day of 
January, 1772, covering a priod of exactly three years. 
These remarkable letters were written from time to time, 
being forty-seven in number, written over the signature 
"Junius." Seven were written over the signature "Philo 
Junius," who was really Junius, being another name assumed 



JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 



by him, under which he defended himself. These letters, 
with four written by Sir WiUiam Draper, one by Mr. Home, 
and a few others, were revised and corrected by Junius, and 
presented by him to his pubHsher, Mr. Woodfall, and were 
pubHshed by him under the name of "Woodfall's Junius." 

Besides these, Junius wrote quite a nimiber of "Miscel- 
laneous Letters," and many "Private Letters" to Mr. Wood- 
fall; also a few over the names "Lucius" and "Atticus"; 
possibly one over the name "Brutus," which last three are 
generally considered to have been written by Junius. 

All of the foregoing letters can be found in two volumes 
in Bohn's Standard Library, under the name of "Junius by 
Woodfall," which were compiled by him from all the writ- 
ings of Junius, which he had in his possession; to which the 
reader is referred, if he wishes to get all the writings of 
Junius. Bohn's Standard Library Edition of Junius is used 
by me in this discussion. 

Almost from the very beginning of his letters he assimi- 
ed the fictitious name of "Junius," for which he had a most 
excellent reason, to which I will hereafter allude. He started 
out by saying: "I am the sole depositary of my own secret 
[his name] and it shall perish with me," which resolution I 
think he kept to the last; except, that he may have given 
his pubUsher, Mr. Woodfall, a hint as to his identity, this 
being a necessity for carrying on his voluminous correspond- 
ence with him, as I will show in a subsequent part of the 
subject. 

In order that the reader may know something of the 
personality of this mysterious author, his style, sentiments, 
doctrines, politics, and advice given, I will here insert his 
"Dedication to the English Nation": 

"DEDICATION TO THE ENGLISH NATION" 

"I dedicate to you a collection of letters, written 
by one of yourselves, for the common benefit of us all. 
They would never have grown to this size without your 
continued encouragement and applause. To me they 
originally owe nothing, but a healthy sanguine consti- 
tution. Under your care they have thriven. To you 



PART I 

they are indebted for whatever strength or beauty they 
possess. When kings and ministers are forgotten, when 
the force and direction of personal satire is no longer 
understood, and when measures are only felt in their 
remotest consequences, this book will, I believe, be 
found to contain principles worthy to be transmitted to 
posterity. When you leave the unimpaired, hereditary 
freehold to your children, you do but half your duty. 
Both liberty and property are precarious, unless the 
possessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. 
This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain 
man, my gratification lies within a narrow circle. I am 
the sole depositary of my own secret, and it shall perish 
with me. If an honest man, and, I may truly affirm, a 
laborious zeal for the public service, has given me any 
weight in your esteem, let me exhort and conjure you 
never to suffer an invasion of your political constitution, 
however minute the instance may appear, to pass by, 
without a determined, persevering resistance. One prec- 
edent creates another. They soon accumulate and con- 
stitute law. What yesterday was fact, today is doctrine. 
Examples are supposed to justify the most dangerous 
measures, and where they do not suit exactly, the defect 
is supplied by analogy. Be assured that the laws, which 
protect us in our civil rights, grow out of the constitu- 
tion, and that they must fall or flourish with it. This 
is not the cause of faction, or of party, or of any indi- 
vidual, but the common interest of every man in Brit- 
ain. Although the King should continue to support his 
present system of government, the period is not very 
distant at which you will have the means of redress in 
your own power. It may be nearer, perhaps, than any 
of us expect, and I would warn you to be prepared for 
it. The King may possibly be advised to dissolve the 
present Parliament a year or two before it expires of 
course, and precipitate a new election, in hopes of taking 
the nation by surprise. If such a measure be in agita- 
tion, this very caution may defeat or prevent it. 

"I cannot doubt that you will unanimously assert 
the freedom of election, and vindicate your exclusive 
right to choose your representatives. But other ques- 
tions have been started, on which your determination 
should be equally clear and unanimous. Let it be im- 
pressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your 
children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium 



10 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

of all the civil, political, and religious rights of an Eng- 
lishman, and that the right of juries to return a general 
verdict, in all cases whatsoever, is an essential part of 
our constitution, not to be controlled or limited by the 
judges, nor in any shape questionable by the legislature. 
The power of King, Lords, and Commons is not an 
arbitrary power. They are the trustees, not the owners, 
of the estate. The fee-simple is in US. They cannot 
alienate, they cannot waste. When we say that the 
legislature is supreme we mean that it is the highest 
power known to the constitution; that it is the highest 
in comparison with the other subordinate powers estab- 
lished by the laws. In this sense, the word supreme is 
relative, not absolute. The power of the legislature is 
limited, not only by the general rules of natural justice 
and the welfare of the community, but by the forms and 
principles of our particular constitution. If this doctrine 
be not true, we must admit that King, Lords and Com- 
mons have no rule to direct their resolutions, but merely 
their own will and pleasure. They might unite the 
legislative and executive power in the same hands, and 
dissolve the constitution by an Act of Parliam_ent. But 
I am persuaded you will not leave it to the choice of 
seven hiuidred persons, notoriously corrupted by the 
Crown, whether seven millions of their equals shall be 
freemen or slaves. The certainty of forfeiting their own 
rights, when they sacrifice those of the nation, is no 
check to a brutal, degenerate mind. Without insisting 
upon the extravagant concession made to Henry the 
Eighth, there are instances in the history of other coun- 
tries, of a formal, deliberate surrender of the public 
liberty into the hands of the sovereign. If England does 
not share the same fate, it is because we have better 
resources than in the virtue of either House of Parlia- 
ment. 

"I said that the liberty of the press is the palladium 
of all your rights, and that the right of juries to return 
a general verdict is part of your constitution. To pre- 
serve the whole system, you must correct your legisla- 
ture. With regard to any influence of the constituent 
over the conduct of the representative, there is little 
difference between a seat in Parliament for seven years 
and a seat for life. The prospect of your resentment 
is too remote, and although the last session of a septen- 
nial Parliament be usually employed in courting the 



PART I 11 

favour of the people, consider that, at this rate, your 
representatives have six years for offense, and but one 
for atonement. A death-bed repentance seldom reaches 
to restitution. If you reflect that in the changes of 
administration which have marked and disgraced the 
present reign, although your warmest patriots have, in 
their turn, been invested with the lawful and unlawful 
authority of the Crown, and though other reliefs or im- 
provements have been held forth to the people, yet 
that no one man in office ever promoted or encouraged 
a bill for shortening the duration of Parliament, but 
that (whoever was minister) the opposition to this meas- 
ure, ever since the septennial act passed, has been con- 
stant and uniform on the part of government — you can 
not but conclude, without the possibility of a doubt, that 
long Parliaments are the foundation of the undue influ- 
. ence of the Crown. This influence answers every pur- 
pose of arbitrary power to the Crown, with an expense 
and oppression to the people, which would be unneces- 
sary in an arbitrary government. The best of our min- 
isters find it the easiest and most compendious mode of 
conducting the King's affairs; and all ministers have a 
general interest in adhering to a system, which of itself 
is sufficient to support them in office, without any 
assistance from personal virtue, popularity, labor, 
abilities, or experience. It promises every gratification 
to avarice and ambition, and secures impunity. These 
are truths unquestionable. If they make no impression, 
it is because they are too vulgar and notorious. But 
the inattention or indifference of the nation has con- 
tinued too long. You are roused at last to a sense of 
your danger. The remedy will soon be in your power. 

"If Junius lives, you shall often be reminded of it. 
If, when the opportunity presents itself, you neglect to 
do your duty to yourselves and to your posterity, to 
God and to your country, I shall have one consolation 
left, in common with the meanest and basest of man- 
kind: Civil Hberty may still last the Hfe of JUNIUS." 

From a perusal of his political writings, it is evident 
that he had a fixed and settled purpose in mind from the 
beginning, which I will concisely state, according to my own 
opinion : 

At the time when he wrote his first letters, under the 
names of "Lucius" and "Atticus," and also when he wrote 



12 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

his first letter as Junius, the political situation of England 
was in a deplorable condition. The Government had recent- 
ly emerged from a seven-years' war with France, and was 
overwhelmingly in debt. Spain had also been giving England 
considerable trouble about the Falkland Islands. George 
the Third had recently become King; he was young and 
inexperienced, being only about fifteen years old when the 
first Junius Letter was written; consequently, his mother, 
the Princess Dowager of Wales, was Regent until the young 
King attained his majority. She was governed almost en- 
tirely by Lord Bute, then Prime Minister of England. He 
and the Queen Regent had the tutelage of the young King 
in their own hands, and moulded his character and politi- 
cal opinions after their own notions, which were on a very 
selfish and arbitrary line; besides, history informs us that he 
was, by no means, an intellectual character, which frequently 
showed itself during his reign. 

He was often influenced by bad men in the Ministry, 
to suit their evil purposes; all of which made the King, when 
he entered the throne, and his Ministry, very unpopular 
with the people, and caused them to be very restless under 
the Government. He continued Lord Bute as Prime Minis- 
ter, and was under his baneful influence, owing to his inex- 
perience in governmental affairs. Lord Bute selected a weak 
and inefficient Ministry to suit his own selfish purposes. 
The Parlament was, at that time, mostly composed of men 
of very poor ability, very venal in their characters, each 
looking out for his own private interests, utterly ignoring the 
good of the Government and the people at large. 

A treaty of peace was about to be concluded with 
France, which was very unfair to England, and which Lord 
Bute, with his great personal influence over the King, the 
Ministry and Parliament, succeeded in getting through and 
ratified. It has been said in history that the Prime Minister 
was bribed by France for his influence in concluding the 
treaty. 

These grievances, and others of a similar nature, exas- 
perated the people against Lord Bute and the entire Govern- 



PART I 13 

ment, and made them very restless for a change of officials; 
he became very obnoxious to the entire Whig Party, among 
whom were Lords Chatham, Temple, Rockingham, Calcraft 
and others, who were then either in the Ministry or in Par- 
liament; and, although in the minority, were quite a power 
to be reckoned with; so that Lord Bute resigned on April 8, 
1763. He was succeeded by Lord Grenville as Prime Minis- 
ter, who inaugurated a very bitter contest against the cele- 
brated John Wilkes, who had been elected to Parliament by 
an overwhleming majority from London and Middlesex 
County over a Mr. Luttrell, and succeeded in ousting him 
from his seat and placing in his stead the person whom he 
defeated. 

This was regarded as a high-handed piece of lawlessness, 
directly violative of the constitution. Wilkes entered the 
contest at the next election, and was chosen by the people 
by a still larger majority; but was again rejected by the 
House of Commons. He was re-elected three times by the 
people of Middlesex County, and was three times rejected 
by the Parliament. 

This exasperated the people more than ever, and also 
the Whig party. They all considered that Wilkes had been 
persecuted by Parliament, and without a shadow of law or 
reason for the iniquity. Lord Grenville also had the odious 
Stamp Act passed in March, 1765, heavily taxing the Amer- 
ican Colonies, which spread general dissatisfaction among 
those people, as well as great discontent in England. There- 
upon, the King dismissed the entire Grenville Ministry, and 
appointed the Marquis of Rockingham as Prime Minister, 
with an entirely new Ministry, which repealed the Stamp 
Act in June 1767, but soon this Ministry came to an end, 
by internal dissensions and treachery among themselves. 

In August, the Earl of Chatham, the great leader of 
the Whig Party, was placed at the head of the Ministry, but 
many of the other members were not in harmony with him, 
which caused violent dissensions among them. The King 
had not failed to put in the Ministry some of his favorites, 
to represent his views. 



14 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Shortly thereafter, a new bill for taxing the American 
Colonies was secretly put through Parliament by Lord 
Townshend, without consulting Lord Chatham, who had 
been sick, and was, part of the time, absent from the Min- 
istry, and at variance with a majority of them; they, well 
knowing his violent opposition to the Act, passed it through 
during his absence. 

This Act placed a heavy duty on tea, among other 
things, which exasperated the Colonies very much, and as- 
serted the right in England to tax them in any way she 
chose. 

Against this procedure, the Colonies openly rebelled, 
and on the arrival of the first cargo of tea, at Boston, the 
citizens boarded the vessel and threw the tea overboard. 

Shortly thereafter. Lord Chatham resigned as Prime 
Minister, which broke up the Ministry. The Duke of Graf- 
ton was then appointed as Prime Minister with an entirely 
new Ministry, known as the Grafton Ministry, which was 
even worse than any of its predecessors. 

It was composed of strong adherents of the King, and 
bitter enemies of the Colonies; as the question of American 
taxation was at that time, a very vital issue. This critical 
juncture of affairs gave birth to the Junius Letters. 

About this time, Junius, the great political gladiator, 
appears upon the stage, and published the first of his cele- 
brated Philippics, in which, he openly and boldly espoused 
the cause of the American Colonies, warning the Govern- 
ment of Great Britain that if it persisted in its course, it 
would bring on a revolution among the Colonies, which it 
finally did. 

At the same time he directed a very caustic and severe 
criticism against the King, the Ministry and the Parliament, 
but especially against the Duke of Grafton, who was the 
principal object of his denunciation, which struck terror and 
consternation to the minds of them all. They well knew the 
powerful effect it would have upon the people, who were al- 
ready in a state of unrest and suspicion. His open and 
avowed purpose was to overthrow the hated and despised 



PART I 15 

Grafton Ministry, dissolve the Parliament; and some writers 
say, to dethrone the King, but I do not agree with them in 
the last proposition, as it is not hinted at in any of his writ- 
ings. My idea is that, in the overthrow of the Ministry and 
the dissolution of Parliament, he hoped and expected greatly 
to improve the condition of the Government by making it 
more liberal and republican in form, and in this wise to 
ameliorate the condition of the people. 

In order that the reader may be able to comprehend the 
situation more fully, and understand the main object and 
purpose of his attack, I will here insert a copy of his first 
Letter: 

LETTER I 

TO THE PRINTER OF THE PUBLIC ADVERTISER 

January 21, 1769 
"Sir: 

The submission of a free people to the executive 
authority of Government is no more than a compliance 
with laws which they themselves have enacted. While 
the national honour is firmly maintained abroad, and 
while justice is impartially administered at home, the 
obedience of the subject will be voluntary, cheerful, and 
I might almost say, unlimited. A generous nation is 
grateful even for the preservation of its rights, and will- 
ingly extends the respect due to the office of a good 
prince into an affection for his person. Loyalty in the 
heart and understanding of an Englishman, is a rational 
attachment to the guardian of the laws. Prejudices and 
passion have sometimes carried it to a criminal length; 
and whatever foreigners may imagine, we know that 
Englishmen have erred as much in a mistaken zeal for 
particular persons and families, as they ever did in de- 
fence of what they thought most dear and interesting 
to themselves. 

"It naturally fills us with resentment, to see such a 
temper insulted, or abused. In reading the history of a 
free people, whose rights have been invaded, we are in- 
terested in their cause. Our own feelings tell us how 
long they ought to have submitted, and at what moment 
it would have been treachery to themselves not to have 



16 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

resisted. How much warmer will be our resentment, if 
experience should bring the fatal example home to our- 
selves! 

"The situation of this country is alarming enough 
to arouse the attention of every man who pretends to a 
concern for the public welfare. Appearances justify 
suspicion, and when the safety of a nation is at stake, 
suspicion is a just ground of inquiry. Let us enter into 
it with candor and decency. Respect is due to the 
station of Ministers; and, if a resolution must at last be 
taken, there is none so Hkely to be supported with firm- 
ness, as that which has been adopted with moderation. 

"The ruin of prosperity of a state depends so much 
upon the administration of its Government, that to be 
acquainted with the merit of a Ministry, we need only 
to observe the condition of the people. 

"If we see them obedient to the laws, prosperous 
in their industry, united at home and respected abroad, 
we may reasonably presume that their affairs are con- 
ducted by men of experience, abilities and virtue. If, 
on the contrary, we see an universal spirit of distrust 
and dissatisfaction, a rapid decay of trade, dissensions 
in all parts of the Empire, and a total loss of respect 
in the eyes of foreign powers, we may pronounce, with- 
out hesitation, that the Government of that country is 
weak, distracted and corrupt. The multitude, in all 
countries, are patient to a certain point. Ill usage may 
rouse their indignation, and hurry them into excesses, 
but the original fault is in Government. Perhaps there 
never was an instance of a change in the circumstances 
and temper of a whole nation so sudden and extraor- 
dinary as that which the misconduct of Ministers has, 
within these very few years, produced in Great Britain. 
When our gracious Sovereign ascended the throne, we 
were a flourishing and contented people. If the personal 
virtues of the King could have insured the happiness of 
his subjects, the scene could not have altered so entirely 
as it has done. The idea of uniting all parties, of try- 
ing all characters, and distributing the offices of state 
by rotation, was gracious and benevolent to an extreme, 
though it has not yet produced the many salutary effects 
which were intended by it. To say nothing of the wis- 
dom of such a plan, it undoubtedly arose from an un- 
bounded goodness of heart, in which folly had no share. 
It was not a capricious partiality to new faces; it was 



PART I 17 

not a natural turn for low intrigue ; nor was it the treach- 
erous amusement of double and triple negotiations. No, 
sir, it arose from a continued anxiety, in the purest of 
all possible hearts, for the general welfare. Unfortun- 
ately for us, the event has not been answerable to the 
design. After a rapid succession of changes we are re- 
duced to the state which hardly any change can mend. 
Yet there is no extremity of distress, which of itself 
ought to reduce a great nation to despair. It is not 
the disorder, but the physician; it is not a casual con- 
currence of calamitous circumstances; it is the pernicious 
hand of Government, which alone can make a whole 
people desperate. 

"Without much political sagacity, or any extraor- 
dinary depth of observation, we need only mark how 
the principal departments of the state are bestowed, and 
look no farther for the true cause of every mischief that 
befalls us. 

"The finances of a nation, sinking under its debts 
and expenses, are committed to a young nobleman [the 
Duke of Grafton] already ruined by play. Introduced 
to act under the auspices of Lord Chatham, and left at 
the head of affairs by that nobleman's retreat, he be- 
came Minister by accident; but, deserting the principles 
and professions which gave him a moment's popularity, 
we see him, from every honourable engagement to the 
public, an apostate by design. As for business, the 
world yet knows nothing of his talents or resolution; 
unless a wayward, wavering inconsistency be a mark of 
genius, and caprice a demonstration of spirit. It may 
be said, perhaps, that it is his Grace's province, as sure- 
ly as it is his passion, rather to distribute than to save 
the public money; and that while Lord North is Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer, the first Lord of the Treasury 
may be as thoughtless and as extravagant as he pleases. 
I hope, however, he will not rely too much on the fer- 
tility of Lord North's genius for finance. His Lordship 
is yet to give us the first proof of his abilities. It may 
be candid to suppose that he has hitherto voluntarily 
concealed his talents; intending, perhaps, to astonish 
the world, when we least expect it, with a knowledge of 
trade, a choice of expedients, and a depth of resources 
equal to the necessities, and far beyond the hopes of his 
country. He must now exert the whole power of his 
capacity, if he would wish us to forget, that, since he 



18 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

has been in office, no plan hass been formed, no system 
adhered to, nor any one important measure adopted for 
the reHef of public credit. If his plan for the service of 
the current year be not irrevocably fixed on, let me 
warn him to think seriously of consequences before he 
ventures to increase the public debt. Outraged and 
oppressed as we are, this nation will not bear, after a 
six years' peace, to see new millions borrowed, without 
an eventual diminution of debt, or reduction of interest. 
The attempt might rouse a spirit of resentment which 
might reach beyond the sacrifice of a Minister. As to 
the debt upon the civil list, the people of England ex- 
pect that it will not be paid without a strict inquiry 
how it was incurred. If it must be paid by Parliament, 
let me advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer to think 
of some better expedient than a lottery. To support an 
expensive war, or in circumstances of absolute necessity, 
a lottery may perhaps be allowable; but, besides that 
it is at all times the very worst way of raising money upon 
the people, I think it ill becomes the royal dignity to 
have the debts of a King provided for, like the repairs 
of a county bridge, or a decayed hospital. The manage- 
ment of the King's affairs in the House of Commons 
cannot be more disgraced than it has been. A leading 
Minister repeatedly called down for absolute ignorance, 
ridiculous motions ridiculously withdrawn — deliberate 
plans disconcerted, and a week's preparation of graceful 
oratory lost in a moment, — give us some, though not 
adequate ideas, of Lord North's parliamentary abilities 
and influence. Yet before he had the misfortune to be 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was neither an object 
of derision to his enemies, nor of melancholy pity to his 
friends. 

"A series of inconsistent measures had alienated the 
Colonies from their duty as subjects, and from their 
natural affection to their common country. When Mr. 
Grenville was placed at the head of the Treasury, he 
felt the impossibility of Great Britain's supporting such 
an establishment as her former successes had made indis- 
pensable, and at the same time of giving any sensible 
relief to foreign trade, and to the weight of the public 
debt. He thought it equitable that those parts of the 
Empire which had benefited most by the expenses of 
the war, should contribute something* to the expenses of 
the peace, and he had no doubt of the constitutional 



PART I 19 

right vested in Pariiament to raise that contribution. 
But, unfortunately for his country, Mr. Grenville was 
at any rate to be distressed, because he was Minister; 
and Mr. Pitt and Lord Camden were to be the patrons 
of America, because they were in opposition. Their 
declaration gave spirit and argument to the Colonies; 
and while perhaps they meant no more than the ruin of 
a minister, they in effect divided one half of the Empire 
from the other. Under one administration, the Stamp 
Act is made; under the second, it is repealed; under 
the third, in spite of all experience, a new mode of tax- 
ing the Colonies is invented, and a question revived 
which ought to have been buried in oblivion. In these 
circumstances, a new office is established for the business 
of the plantations, and the Earl of Hillsborough called 
forth, at a most critical season, to govern America. 
The choice at least announced to us a man of superior 
capacity and knowledge. Whether he be so or not, let 
his dispatches, as far as they have appeared, let his 
measures, as far as they have operated, determine for 
him. In the former we have seen strong assertions 
without proof, declamation without argument, and vio- 
lent censures without dignity or moderation; but neither 
correctness in the composition, nor judgment in the de- 
sign. As for his measures, let it be remembered, that 
he was called upon to conciliate and unite; and that, 
when he entered into office, the most refractory of the 
Colonies were still disposed to proceed by the consti- 
tutional methods of petition and remonstrance. Since 
that period they have been driven into excesses little 
short of rebellion. Petitions have been hindered from 
reaching the throne; and the continuance of one of the 
principal assemblies rested upon an arbitrary condition, 
which, considering the temper they were in, it was im- 
possible they should comply with; and which would 
have availed nothing as to the general question if it 
had been complied with. So violent, and I believe 
I may call it, so unconstitutional an exertion of the 
prerogative, to say nothing of the weak, injudicious terms 
in which it was conveyed, gives us as humble an opinion 
of his lordship's capacity as it does of his temper and 
moderation. While we are at peace with other nations, 
our military force may perhaps be spared to support the 
Earl of Hillsborough's measures in America. Whenever 
that force shall be necessarily withdrawn or diminished, 



20 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

the dismission of such a Minister will neither console us 
for his imprudence nor remove the settled resentment of 
a people, who, complaining of an Act of the Legislature, 
are outraged by an unwarrantable stretch of prerog- 
ative; and, supporting their claims by argument, are 
insulted with declamation. 

"Drawing lots would be a prudent and reasonable 
method of appointing the officers of state compared to a 
late disposition of the Secretary's office. Lord Rochford 
was acquainted with the affairs and temper of the 
southern courts — Lord Weymouth was equally qualified 
for either department. By what unaccountable caprice 
has it happened, that the latter, who pretends to no 
experience whatsoever, is removed to the most import- 
tant of the two departments, and the former by prefer- 
ence placed in an office where his experience can be of 
no use to him? Lord Weymouth had distinguished him- 
self in his first employment by a spirited, if not judi- 
cious, conduct. He had animated the civil magistrate 
beyond the tone of civil authority, and had directed 
the operations of the army to more than military exe- 
cution. Recovered from the errors of his youth, from 
the distraction of play, and the bewitching smiles of 
Burgundy, behold him exerting the whole strength of 
his clear, unclouded faculties, in the service of the Crown. 
It was not the heat of midnight excesses, nor ignorance 
of the laws, nor the furious spirit of the House of Bed- 
ford. No, sir, when this respectable Minister interposed 
his authority between the magistrate and the people, 
and signed the mandate on which, for aught he knew, 
the lives of thousands depended, he did it from the de- 
liberate motion of his heart, supported by the best of 
his judgment. 

"It has lately been a fashion to pay a compliment 
to the bravery and generosity of the Commander-in- 
chief [Lord Granby] at the expense of his understanding. 
They who love him least make no question of his cour- 
age, while his friends dwell chiefly on the facility of his 
disposition. Admitting him to be as brave as a total 
absence of all feeling and reflection can make him, let 
us see what sort of merit he derives from the remainder 
of his character. If it be generosity to accumulate in 
his own person and family a number of lucrative em- 
ployments — to provide, at the public expense, for every 
creature that bears the name of Manners [Granby's 



PART I 21 

name], and, neglecting the merit and services of the rest 
of the army, to heap promotions upon his favourites 
and dependants — the present Commander-in-chief is the 
most generous man ahve. Nature has been sparing of 
her gifts to this noble lord; but, where birth and fortune 
are united, we expect the noble pride and independence 
of a man of spirit, not the servile, humiliating complais- 
ance of a courtier. As to the goodness of his heart, if 
a proof of it be taken from the facility of never refusing, 
what conclusions shall we draw from the indecency of 
never performing? And if the discipline of the army 
be in any degree preserved, what thanks are due to a 
man, whose cares, notoriously confined to filling up 
vacancies, have degraded the office of commander-in- 
chief into a broker of commissions! 

"With respect to the navy, I shall only say, that 
this country is so highly indebted to Sir Edward Hawke, 
that no expense should be spared to secure to him an 
honourable and affluent retreat. 

"The pure and impartial administration of justice 
is, perhaps the firmest bond to secure a cheerful submis- 
sion of the people, and to engage their affections to 
Government. It is not sufficient that questions of private 
right or wrong are justly decided, nor that judges are 
superior to the vileness of pecuniary corruption. Jef- 
feries himself, when the court had no interest, was an 
upright judge. A court of justice may be subject to 
another sort of bias, more important and pernicious, as 
it reaches beyond the interest of individuals, and affects 
the whole community. A judge under the influence of 
Government, may be honest enough in the decision of 
private causes, yet a traitor to the public. When a vic- 
tim is marked out by the Ministry, this judge [Lord 
Mansfield] will offer himself to perform the sacrifice. 
He will not scruple to prostitute his dignity, and betray 
the sanctity of his office, whenever an arbitrary point 
is to be carried for Government, or the resentments of a 
court are to be gratified. 

"These principles and proceedings, odious and con- 
temptible as they are, in effect are no less injudicious. 
A wise and generous people are roused by every appear- 
ance of oppressive, unconstitutional measures, whether 
those measures are supported openly by the power of 
government, or masked under the forms of a court of 
justice. Prudence and self-preservation will oblige the 



22 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

most moderate dispositions to make common cause, 
even with a man whose conduct they censure, if they 
see him [Wilkes] persecuted in a way which the real 
spirit of the laws will not justify. The facts, on which 
these remarks are founded, are too notorious to require 
an application. 

"This, sir, is the detail. In one view, behold a 
nation overwhelmed with debt; her revenues wasted, her 
trade declining; the affections of her colonies alienated; 
the duty of the magistrate transferred to the soldiery; 
a gallant army, which never fought unwillingly but 
against their fellow-subjects, mouldering away for want 
of the direction of a man of common abilities and spirit; 
and in the last instance, the administration of justice 
becomes odious and suspected to the whole body of the 
people. 

"This deplorable scene admits of but one addition — 
that we are governed by counsels from which a reason- 
able man can expect no remedy but poison; no relief 
but death. 

"If, by the immediate interposition of Providence, 
it were possible for us to escape a crisis so full of terror 
and despair, posterity will not believe the history of the 
present time. They will either conclude that our dis- 
tresses were imaginary, or that we had the good fortune 
to be governed by men of acknowledged integrity and 
wisdom; they will not believe it possible that their an- 
cestors could have survived, or recovered from so des- 
perate a condition, while a duke of Grafton was Prime 
Minister, a Lord North Chancellor of the Exchequer, a 
Weymouth and a Hillsborough Secretaries of State, a 
Granby Commander-in-chief, and a Mansfield chief 
criminal judge of the Kingdom. 

JUNIUS." 

Several other letters of a similar kind followed in quick 
succession against the Duke of Grafton and other members 
of the Ministry. The allusion to the Marquis of Granby, 
the Commander-in-chief of the King's army, is particularly 
noticeable, as Junius's object seemed to have been to get a 
man who was not hostile to his purposes. In his assault on 
the Marquis, he brought forward many of his short-comings 
as Commander-in-chief. 



PART I 28 

Sir William Draper, an officer in the King's service, and 
a well educated man, came to the rescue of the Marquis, by- 
writing a very severe letter in reply to Junius, as an anon- 
ymous writer, which was answered by Junius in very caustic 
terms, in which he reviewed the official and private life of 
Sir William, which was not very savory in its nature. It 
was answered by him in a very subdued tone, and apologetic 
manner, which indicated that he was badly embarrassed in 
explaining some of his official acts. 

Junius replied to this letter in a very severe manner, 
and I will call the reader's attention to the bitter irony in 
his succeeding letters: 

LETTER III 

TO SIR WILLIAM DRAPER, KNIGHT OF THE 

BATH 

February 7th, 1769 
"Sir: 

Your defense of Lord Granby does honour to the 
goodness of your heart. You feel, as you ought to do, 
for the reputation of your friend, and you express your- 
self in the warmest language of your passions. In any 
other cause I doubt not, you would have cautiously 
weighed the consequences of committing your name to 
the Hcentious discourses and malignant opinions of the 
world. But here, I presume, you thought it would be a 
breach of friendship to lose one moment in consulting 
your understanding; as if an appeal to the public were 
no more than a military coup de main, where a brave 
man has no rules to follow but the dictates of his cour- 
age. Touched with your generosity, I freely forgive the 
excesses into which it has led you; and, far from resent- 
ing those terms of reproach which, considering that 
you are an advocate for decorum, you have heaped 
upon me rather too liberally, I place them to the ac- 
count of an honest, unreflecting indignation, in which 
your cooler judgment and natural politeness had no con- 
cern. I approve of the spirit with which you have given 
your name to the public; and, if it were a proof of any- 
thing but spirit, I should have thought myself bound to 
follow your example. I should have hoped that even 
my name might carry some authority with it, if I had 



24 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

not seen how very little weight or consideration a print- 
ed paper receives even from the respectable signature of 
Sir William Draper. 

"You begin with a general assertion, that writers, 
such as I am, are the real cause of all the public evils 
we complain of. And do you really think, Sir William, 
that the licentious pen of a political writer is able to 
produce such important effects? A little calm reflection 
might have shown you that national calamities do not 
arise from the description, but from the real character 
and conduct of Ministers. To have supported your 
assertion, you should have proved that the present 
Ministry are unquestionably the best and brightest char- 
acters of the kingdom; and that, if the affections of the 
Colonies have been alienated, if Corsica has been shame- 
fully abandoned, if commerce languishes, if public 
credit is threatened with a new debt, and your own 
Manilla ransom most dishonourably given up, it has all 
been owing to the malice of political writers, who will 
not suffer the best and brightest characters (meaning 
still the present Ministry) to take a single right step for 
the honour or interest of the nation. But it seems you 
were a little tender of coming to particulars. Your 
conscience insinuated to you that it would be prudent 
to leave the characters of Grafton, North, Hillsborough, 
Weymouth, and Mansfield to shift for themselves; and 
truly. Sir William, the part you have undertaken is at 
least as much as you are equal to. 

"Without disputing Lord Granby's courage, we are 
yet to learn in what articles of military knowledge na- 
ture has been so very liberal to his mind. If you have 
served with him, you ought to have pointed out some 
instances of able disposition and well-concerted enter- 
prise which might fairly be attributed to his capacity as 
a general. It is you. Sir William, who make your friend 
appear awkward and ridiculous, by giving him a laced 
suit of tawdry qualifications, which nature never intend- 
ed him to wear. 

"You say he has acquired nothing but honour in 
the field. Is the Ordnance nothing? Are the Blues 
nothing? Is the command of the army, with all the 
patronage annexed to it, nothing? Where he got all these 
nothings, I know not; but you, at least, ought to have 
told us where he deserved them. 

"As to his bounty, compassion, etc., it would have 
been but little to the purpose, though you had approved 



PART I 25 

all that you have asserted. I meddle with nothing but 
his character as Commander-in-chief; and though I ac- 
quit him of the baseness of selling commissions, I still 
assert that his mihtary cares have never extended be- 
yond the disposal of vacancies; and I am justified by 
the complaints of the whole army, when I say, that, in 
this distribution, he consults nothing but parliamentary 
interest, or the gratification of his immediate depend- 
ants. As to his servile submission to the reigning Min- 
istry, let me ask whether he did not desert the cause of 
the whole army when he suffered Sir Jeffery Amherst to 
be sacrificed, and what share he had in recalling that 
officer to the service? Did he not betray the just inter- 
est of the army, in permitting Lord Percy to have a 
regiment? And does he not at this moment give up all 
character and dignity as a gentleman, in receding from 
his own repeated declarations in favour of Mr. Wilkes? 

"In the two next articles, I think we are agreed. 
You candidly admit, that he often makes such promises 
as it is a virtue in him to violate, and that no man is 
more assiduous to provide for his relations at the public 
expense. I did not urge the last as an absolute vice in 
his disposition, but to prove that a careless, disinterested 
spirit is no part of his character: and as to the other, 
I desire it may be remembered, that / never descended 
to the indecency of inquiring into his convivial hours. 
It is you. Sir William Draper, who have taken pains to 
represent your friend in the character of a drunken 
landlord, who deals out his promises as liberally as his 
liquor, and will suffer no man to leave his table either 
sorrowful or sober. None but an intimate friend, who 
must frequently have seen him in these unhappy, dis- 
graceful moments, could have described him so well. 

"The last charge, of the neglect of the army, is in- 
deed the most material of all. I am sorry to tell you, 
Sir William, that in this article, your first fact is false; 
and as there is nothing more painful to me than to give 
a direct contradiction to a gentleman of your appear- 
ance, I could wish that, in your future publications, you 
would pay a greater attention to the truth of your prem- 
ises, before you suffer your genius to hurry you to a 
conclusion. Lord Ligonier did not deliver the army 
(which you, in classical language, are pleased to call a 
palladium) into Lord Granby's hands. It was taken 
from him much against his inclination, some two or 



26 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

three years before Lord Granby was a Commander-in- 
chief. As to the state of the army, I should be glad to 
know where you have received your intelligence. Was 
it in the rooms at Bath, or at your retreat at CHfton? 
The reports of reviewing generals comprehend only a 
few regiments in England, which, as they are immedi- 
ately under the royal inspection, are perhaps in some 
tolerable order. But do you know anything of the 
troops in the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and North 
America, to say nothing of a whole army absolutely 
ruined in Ireland? Inquire a little into facts, Sir Wil- 
liam, before you publish your next panegyric upon Lord 
Granby, and, believe me, you will find there is a fault 
at headquarters, which even the acknowledged care and 
abilities of the Adjutant-general cannot correct. 

"Permit me now, Sir William, to address myself 
personally to you, by way of thanks for the honour of 
your correspondence. You are by no means undeserv- 
ing of notice; and it may be of consequence, even to 
Lord Granby, to have it determined, whether or no the 
man who has praised him so lavishly, be himself deserv- 
ing of praise. When you returned to Europe, you zeal- 
ously undertook the cause of that gallant army by whose 
bravery at Manilla your own fortune had been estab- 
lished. You complained, you threatened, you even ap- 
pealed to the public in print. By what accident did it 
happen, that in the midst of all this bustle, and all these 
clamours for justice to your injured troops, the name of 
the Manilla ransom was suddenly buried in a profound, 
and, since that time, an uninterrupted, silence? Did the 
Ministry suggest any motive to you strong enough to 
tempt a man of honour to desert and betray the cause 
of his fellow-soldiers? Was it that blushing ribband, 
which is now the perpetual ornament of your person? 
Or was it that regiment, which you afterwards (a thing 
unprecedented among soldiers) sold to Colonel Gisbome? 
Or was it that Government, the ftdl pay of which you 
are contented to hold, with the half-pay of an Irish 
Colonel? And do you now, after a retreat not very 
like that of Scipio, presume to intrude yourself, un- 
thought of, uncalled for, upon the patience of the pub- 
lic? Are your flatteries of the Commander-in-chief di- 
rected to another regiment, which you may again dis- 
pose of on the same honourable terms? We know your 
prudence. Sir William, and I should be sorry to stop 
your preferment. JUNIUS." 



PART I 27 

In Vol. I of Bohn's Edition, pp. 126, 129, 221 and 228, 
Junius wrote four other masterly letters in reply to Sir Wil- 
liam Draper, which are well worth the perusal of any one; 
but I have not the space to reproduce them here. Their 
severity is almost beyond imitation. They must have made 
Sir WiUiam writhe in every nerve of his body. The invec- 
tives which Junius employed are scarcely surpassed by those 
of Cicero against Cataline, Anthony, or Verres. Let us take, 
for example, the beautiful rhetorical climax used by the 
great Roman orator, in his celebrated speech against Cata- 
line: "Abiit, Evasit, Excessit, Erupit," when the bold con- 
spirator, smarting under the attack, madly dashed out of the 
Senate; and we will find that it is hardly superior to some of 
the invectives used by Junius against Sir William Draper, 
the Duke of Grafton, Lord Barrington, Lord Mansfield and 
Lord North. I quote the above Latin expression from mem- 
ory. 

This practically ended the controversy, with a great 
victory for Junius. 

The Marquis of Granby resigned his office as Commander- 
in-chief of the army, shortly afterward. It has been said 
that he requested Sir WilHam Draper not to write any more 
letters to Junius in his defense. Junius then addressed a 
letter to the Duke of Grafton, which I will here copy, in 
order that the reader may have a clear conception of its 
tenor, and the object for which it was written: 

LETTER XV 

TO HIS GRACE, THE DUKE OF GRAFTON 

July 8th, 1769 
"My Lord: 

If nature had given you an understanding qualified 
to keep pace with the wishes and principles of your 
heart, she would have made you, perhaps, the most 
formidable Minister that ever was employed under a 
limited monarch, to accomplish the ruin of a free people. 
When neither the feelings of shame, the reproaches of 
conscience, nor the dread of punishment, form any bar 



28 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

to the designs of a Minister, the people would have too 
much reason to lament their condition, if they did not 
find some resource in the weakness of his understanding. 
We owe it to the bounty of Providence, that the com- 
pletest depravity of the heart is sometimes strangely 
united with a confusion of the mind, which counteracts 
the most favourite principles and makes the same man 
treacherous without art, and a hypocrite without deceiv- 
ing. The measures, for instance, in which your Grace's 
activity has been chiefly exerted, as they were adopted 
without skill, should have been conducted with more 
than common dexterity. But truly, my Lord, the exe- 
cution has been as gross as the design. By one deci- 
sive step you have defeated all the arts of writing. You 
have fairly confounded the intrigues of opposition, and 
silenced the clamours of faction. A dark, ambiguous 
system might require and furnish the materials of in- 
genious illustration; and, in doubtful measures, the viru- 
lent exaggeration of party must be employed to rouse 
and engage the passions of the people. You have now 
brought the merits of your administration to an issue, 
on which every Englishman of the narrowest capacity 
may determine for himself. It is not an alarm to the 
passions, but a calm appeal to the judgment of the peo- 
ple upon their own most essential interests. A more 
experienced Minister would not have hazarded a direct 
invasion of the first principles of the constitution before 
he had made some progress in subduing the spirit of the 
people. With such a cause as yours, my Lord, it is not 
sufficient that you have the court at your devotion, un- 
less you can find means to corrupt or intimidate the 
jury. The collective body of the people form that jury, 
and from their decision there is but one appeal. 

"Whether you have talents to support you at a 
crisis of such difficulty and danger, should long since 
have been considered. Judging truly of your disposition, 
you have, perhaps, mistaken the extent of your capacity. 
Good faith and folly have so long been received as 
synonymous terms, that the reverse of the proposition 
has grown into credit, and every villain fancies himself 
a man of abilities. It is the apprehension of your friends, 
my Lord, that you have drawn some hasty conclusion 
of this sort, and that a partial reliance upon your moral 
character has betrayed you beyond the depth of your 
understanding. You have now carried things too far 



PART I 29 

to retreat. You have plainly declared to the people 
what they are to expect from the continuance of your 
administration. It is time for your Grace to consider 
what you also may expect in return from their spirit 
and their resentment. 

''Since the accession of our most gracious Sovereign 
to the throne we have seen a system of government 
which may well be called a reign of experiments. Par- 
ties of all denominations have been employed and dis- 
missed. The advice of the ablest men in this country 
has been repeatedly called for and rejected; and when 
the royal displeasure has been signified to a Minister, 
the marks of it have usually been proportioned to his 
abihties and integrity. The spirit of the FAVOURITE 
[Lord Bute] had some apparent influence upon every 
administration; and every set of Ministers preserved an 
appearance of duration as long as they submitted to 
that influence. But there were certain services to be 
performed for the favourite's security, or to gratify his 
resentments, which your predecessors in office had the 
wisdom or the virtue not to undertake. The moment 
this refractory spirit was discovered, their disgrace was 
determined. 

"Lord Chatham, Mr. Grenville, and Lord Rocking- 
ham have successively had the honour to be dismissed 
for preferring their duty as servants of the public, to 
those compliances which were expected from their sta- 
tion. A submissive administration was at last gradually 
collected from the deserters of all parties, interests, and 
connections; and nothing remained but to find a leader 
for these gallant well-disciplined troops. Stand forth, 
my Lord, for thou art the man. Lord Bute found no 
resource of dependence or security in the proud impos- 
ing superiority of Lord Chatham's abilities, the shrewd, 
inflexible judgment of Mr. Grenville, nor in the mild 
but determined integrity of Lord Rockingham. His 
views and situation required a creature void of all these 
properties; and he was forced to go through every divi- 
sion, resolution, composition, and refinement of political 
chemistry, before he happily arrived at the caput mor- 
tuum of vitriol in your Grace. Flat and insipid in your 
retired state, but, brought into action, you become vit- 
riol again. Such are the extremes of alternate indolence 
or fury which have governed your whole administration. 



30 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Your circumstances with regard to the people soon be- 
coming desperate, like other honest servants you deter- 
mined to involve the best of masters in the same diffi- 
culties with yourself. We owe it to your Grace's well- 
directed labours, that your Sovereign has been per- 
suaded to doubt of the affections of his subjects, and the 
people to suspect the virtues of their Sovereign at a time 
when both were unquestionable. 

"You have degraded the royal dignity into a base, 
dishonourable competition with Mr. Wilkes, nor had 
you abilities to carry even this last contemptible tri- 
umph over a private man, without the grossest viola- 
tion of the fundamental laws of the constitution and 
rights of the people. But these are rights, my Lord, 
which you can no more annihilate than you can the soil 
to which they are annexed. The question no longer 
turns upon points of national honour and security abroad 
or on the degrees of expedience and propriety of meas- 
ures at home. It was not inconsistent that you should 
abandon the cause of liberty in another country, which 
you had persecuted in your own; and in the common 
arts of domestic corruption, we miss no part of Sir 
Robert Walpole's system except his abilities. In this 
humble imitative line, you might have proceeded, safe 
and contemptible. You might, probably, never have 
risen to the dignity of being hated, and even have been 
despised with moderation. But it seems you meant to 
be distinguished; and, to a mind like yours, there was 
no other road to fame but by the destruction of a noble 
fabric, which you thought had been too long the admira- 
tion of mankind. The use you have made of the mili- 
tary force introduced an alarming change in the mode 
of executing the laws. The arbitrary appointment of 
Mr. Luttrell invades the foundation of the laws them- 
selves, as it manifestly transfers the right of legislation 
from those whom the people have chosen, to those whom 
they have rejected. 

"With a succession of such appointments we may 
soon see a House of Commons collected, in the choice 
of which the other towns and counties of England will 
have as little share as the devoted county of Middlesex. 

"Yet, I trust, your Grace will find that the people 
of this country are neither to be intimidated by violent 
measures, not deceived by refinements. When they see 
Mr. Luttrell seated in the House of Commons by mere 



PART I 31 

dint of power, and in direct opposition to the choice of 
a whole county, they will not listen to those subtleties 
by which every arbitrary exertion of authority is ex- 
plained into the law and privilege of Parliament. It re- 
quires no persuasion of argument, but simply the evi- 
dence of the senses, to convince them that to transfer 
the right of election from the collective to the represen- 
tative body of the people, contradicts all those ideas of 
a House of Commons which they have received from 
their forefathers, and which they have already, though 
vainly perhaps, delivered to their children. The princi- 
ples on which this violent measure has been defended, 
have added scorn to injury, and forced us to feel that 
we are not onl}^ oppressed, but insulted. 

"With what force, my Lord, with what protection, 
are you prepared to meet the united detestation of the 
people of England? The City of London has given a 
generous example to the Kingdom in what manner a 
king of this country ought to be addressed; and, I fancy, 
my Lord, it is not yet in your courage to stand between 
your Sovereign and the addresses of his subjects. The 
injuries you have done this country are such as demand 
not only redress but vengeance. In vain shall you look 
for protection to that venal vote which you have al- 
ready paid for — another must be purchased; and to save 
a Minister, the House of Commons must declare them- 
selves not only independent of their constituents, but the 
determined enemies of the constitution. Consider, my 
Lord, whether this be an extremity to which their fears 
will permit them to advance, or, if their protection 
should fail you, how far you are authorized to rely upon 
the sincerity of those smiles which a pious court lav- 
ishes without reluctance upon a libertine by profession. 
It is not, indeed, the least of the thousand contradic- 
tions which attend you, that a man, marked to the 
world by the grossest violation of all ceremony and de- 
corum, should be the first servant of a court in which 
prayers are morality and kneeling a religion. 

"Trust not too far to appearances by which your 
predecessors have been deceived, though they have not 
been injured. Even the best of princes may at last 
discover that this is a contention in which everything 
may be lost, but nothing can be gained; and, as you 
became Minister by accident, were adopted without 



32 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

choice, trusted without confidence, and continued with- 
out favour, be assured that, whenever an occasion press- 
es, you will be discarded without even the forms of re- 
gret. You will then have reason to be thankful if you 
are permitted to retire to that seat of learning which, in 
contemplation of the system of your life, the compara- 
tive purity of your manners with those of their high 
steward, and a thousand other recommending circum- 
stances, has chosen you to encourage the growing virtue 
of their youth, and to preside over their education. 

"Whenever the spirit of distributing prebends and 
bishoprics shall have departed from you, you will find 
that learned seminary perfectly recovered from the de- 
lirium of an installation, and, what in truth it ought to 
be, once more a peaceful scene of slumber and thought- 
less meditation. The venerable tutors of the university 
will no longer distress your modesty by proposing you 
for a pattern to their pupils. The learned dullness of 
declamation will be silent; and even the venal muse, 
though happiest in fiction, will forget your virtues. 
Yet, for the benefit of the succeeding age, I could wish 
that your retreat might be deferred until your morals 
shall happily be ripened to that maturity of corruption, 
at which the worst examples cease to be contagious. 

JUNIUS." 

Here I will copy his celebrated Letter to the King, for 
the convenience of my readers. There is a great deal of 
adroitness in this letter, in the way he approaches and flat- 
ters the King to accomplish his purpose, that is, to induce 
him to remove the odious Grafton Ministry: 

LETTER XXXV 

FOR THE PUBLIC ADVERTISER 

December 19, 1769 

"When the complaints of a brave and powerful 
people are observed to increase in proportion to the 
wrongs they have suffered, when instead of sinking into 
submission, they are roused to resistance, the time will 
soon arrive, at which every inferior consideration must 
yield to the security of the Sovereign, and to the general 
safety of the state. 



PART I 33 

"There is a moment of difficulty and danger at 
which flattery and falsehood can no longer deceive, and 
simplicity itself can no longer be misled. Let us suppose 
it arrived. Let us suppose a gracious, well-intentioned 
prince, made sensible at last of the great duty he owes 
to his people, and of his own disgraceful situation — that 
he looks round him for assistance, and asks for no ad- 
vice but how to gratify the wishes and secure the happi- 
ness of his subjects. In these circiimstances, it may be 
matter of curious SPECULATION to consider if an 
honest man were permitted to approach a King, in 
what terms he would address himself to his Sovereign. 
Let it be imagined, no matter how improbable, that the 
first prejudice against his character is removed, that the 
ceremonious difficulties of an audience are surmounted, 
that he feels himself animated by the purest and most 
honourable aft'ections to his King and country, and that 
the great person whom he addresses has spirit enough 
to bid him speak freely, and understanding enough to 
listen to him with attention. Unacquainted with the 
vain impertinence of forms, he would deliver his senti- 
ments with dignity and firmness, but not without re- 
spect. 

" 'Sir: It is the misfortune of your life, and orig- 
inally the cause of every reproach and distress which 
has attended your Government, that you should never 
have been acquainted with the language of truth, until 
you heard it in the complaints of your people. It is 
not, however, too late to correct the error of your educa- 
tion. We are still inclined to make an indulgent allow- 
ance for the pernicious lessons you received in your 
youth, and to form the most sanguine hopes from the 
natural benevolence of your disposition. We are far 
from thinking you capable of a direct, deliberate purpose 
to invade those original rights of your subjects, on which 
all their civil and political liberties depend. Had it 
been possible for us to entertain a suspicion so dis- 
honourable to your character, we should long since have 
adopted a style of remonstrance very distant from the 
humility of complaint. The doctrine inculcated by our 
laws, That the King can do no wrong, is admitted with- 
out reluctance. We separate the amiable, good-natured 
prince from the folly and treachery of his servants, and 
the private virtues of the man from the vices of his 
Government. Were it not for this just distinction, I 



34 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

know not whether your Majesty's condition or that of 
the English nation would deserve most to be lamented. 
I would prepare your mind for a favourable reception 
of truth by removing every painful, offensive idea of 
personal reproach. Your subjects, Sir, wish for nothing 
but that, as they are reasonable and affectionate enough 
to separate your person from your Government, so you, 
in your turn, should distinguish between the conduct 
which becomes the permanent dignity of a King and 
that which serves only to promote the temporary inter- 
est and miserable ambition of a Minister. You ascend- 
ed the throne with a declared and, I doubt not, a sin- 
cere resolution of giving universal satisfaction to your 
subjects. You found them pleased with the novelty of 
a young prince whose countenance promised even more 
than words, and loyal to you not only from principle, 
but passion. It was not a cold profession of allegiance 
to the first magistrate, but a partial, animated attach- 
ment to a favourite prince, the native of their country. 
They did not wait to examine your conduct, nor to be 
determined by experience, but gave you a generous cred- 
it for the future blessings of your reign, and paid you in 
advance the dearest tribute of their affections. Such, 
Sir, was once the disposition of a people who now sur- 
round your throne with reproaches and complaints. Do 
justice to yourself. Banish from your mind those un- 
worthy opinions with which some interested persons 
have laboured to possess you. Distrust the man who 
tells you that the English are naturally light and incon- 
stant — that they complain without a cause, Withdraw 
your confidence equally from all parties — from ministers, 
favourites, and relations, and let there be one moment 
in your life in which you have consulted your own un- 
derstanding. 

" 'When you affectedly renounced the name of 
Englishman, believe me, Sir, you were persuaded to pay 
a very ill-judged compliment to one part of your sub- 
jects at the expense of another. While the natives of 
Scotland are not in actual rebellion, they are undoubted- 
ly entitled to protection: nor do I mean to condemn the 
policy of giving some encouragement to the novelty of 
their affections for the house of Hanover. I am ready 
to hope for everything from their new-bom zeal, and 
from the future steadiness of their allegiance. But 
hitherto they have no claim to your favour. To honour 



PART I 35 

them with a determined predilection and confidence, in 
exclusion of your English subjects who placed your fam- 
ily, and in spite of treachery and rebellion, have sup- 
ported it, upon the throne, is a mistake too gross even 
for the unsuspecting generosity of youth. In this error 
we see a capital violation of the most obvious rules of 
policy and prudence. We trace it, however, to an orig- 
inal bias in your education, and are ready to allow for 
your inexperience. 

" 'To the same early influence we atrribute it, that 
you have descended to take a share not only in the nar- 
row views and interests of particular persons, but in the 
fatal malignity of their passions. At your accession to 
the throne the whole system of Government was altered 
not from wisdom or deliberation, but because it had 
been adopted by your predecessor. A little personal 
motive of pique and resentment was sufficient to remove 
the ablest servants of the Crown; but it is not in this 
country. Sir, that such men can be dishonoured by the 
frowns of a King. They were dismissed, but could not 
be disgraced. Without entering into a minuter discus- 
sion of the merits of the peace, we may observe, in the 
imprudent hurry with which the first overtures from 
France were accepted, in the conduct of the negotiation, 
and terms of the treaty, the strongest marks of that 
precipitate spirit of concession, with which a certain 
part of your subjects have been at all times ready to 
purchase a peace with the natural enemies of this country. 
On your part we are satisfied that everjrthing was hon- 
ourable and sincere, and if England was sold to France, 
we doubt not that your Majesty was equally betrayed. 
The conditions of the peace were matter of grief and sur- 
prise to your subjects, but not the immediate cause of 
their present discontent. 

" 'Hitherto, Sir, you have been sacrificed to the 
prejudices and passions of others. With what firmness 
will you bear the mention of your own? 

" 'A man not very honourably distinguished in the 
world, commences a formal attack upon your favourite, 
considering nothing but how he might best expose his 
person and principles to detestation, and the national 
character of his countrymen to contempt. The natives 
of that country [Scotland], Sir, are as much distinguish- 
ed by a peculiar character as by your Majesty's favour. 
Like another chosen people, they have been conducted 



36 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

into the land of plenty, where they find themselves ef- 
fectually marked, and divided from mankind. There is 
hardly a period at which the most irregular character 
may not be redeemed. The mistakes of one sex find a 
retreat in patriotism; those of the other in devotion. 
Mr. Wilkes brought with him into politics the same lib- 
eral sentiments by which his private conduct had been 
directed, and seemed to think that as there are few ex- 
cesses in which an English gentleman may not be per- 
mitted to indulge, the same latitude was allowed him in 
the choice of his political principles, and in the spirit of 
maintaining them. I mean to state, not entirely to de- 
fend, his conduct. In the earnestness of his zeal he 
suffered some unwarrantable insinuations to escape him. 
He said more than moderate men could justify, but 
not enough to entitle him to the honour of your Majes- 
ty's personal resentment. The rays of royal indignation 
collected upon him served only to illuminate, and could 
not consume. Animated by the favour of the people on 
one side, and heated by persecution on the other, his 
views and sentiments changed with his situation. Hard- 
ly serious at first, he is now an enthusiast. The coldest 
bodies warm with opposition, the hardest sparkle in col- 
lision. There is a holy mistaken zeal in politics as 
well as religion. By persuading others, we convince our- 
selves. The passions are engaged, and create a material 
affection in the mind, which coerces us to love the cause 
for which we suffer. Is this a contention worthy of a 
King? Are you not sensible how much the meanness of 
the cause gives an air of ridicule to the serious difficul- 
ties into which you have been betrayed? The destruc- 
tion of one man [Wilkes] has been now for many years 
the sole object of your Government; and if there can be 
anything still more disgraceful, we have seen for such 
an object the utmost influence of the executive power 
and every ministerial artifice exerted without success. 
Nor can you ever succeed, unless he should be imprudent 
enough to forfeit the protection of those laws to which 
you owe your crown, or unless your Ministers should 
persuade you to make it a question of force alone, and 
try the whole strength of Government in opposition to 
the people. The lessons he has received from experience, 
will probably guard him from such excess of folly, and 
■ in your Majesty's virtues we find an unquestionable 
assurance that no illegal violence will be attempted. 



PART I 87 

" 'Far from suspecting you of so horrible a design, 
we would attribute the continued violation of the laws, 
and even this last enormous attack upon the vital prin- 
ciples of the constitution, to an ill-advised, unworthy- 
personal resentment. From one false step you have been 
betrayed into another, and as the cause was unworthy 
of you, your Ministers were determined that the pru- 
dence of the execution should correspond with the wis- 
dom and dignity of the design. They have reduced 
you to the necessity of choosing out of a variety of diffi- 
culties, to a situation so unhappy, that you can neither 
do wrong without ruin, nor right without affliction. 

" 'These worthy servants have undoubtedly given 
you many singular proofs of their abilities. Not con- 
tented with making Mr. Wilkes a man of importance, 
they have judiciously transferred the question from the 
rights and interests of one man, to the most important 
rights and interests of the people, and forced your sub- 
jects from wishing well to the cause of an individual, to 
unite with him in their own. Let them proceed as they 
have begun and your Majesty need not doubt that the 
catastrophe will do no dishonour to the conduct of the 
piece. 

" 'The circumstances to which you are reduced will 
not admit of a compromise with the English nation. 
Undecisive, qualifying measures will disgrace your Gov- 
ernment still more than open violence, and without 
satisfying the people, will excite their contempt. They 
have too much understanding and spirit to accept of an 
indirect satisfaction for a direct injury. Nothing less 
than a repeal as formal as the resolution itself, can heal 
the wound which has been given to the constitution, 
nor will anything less be accepted. I can readily be- 
lieve that there is an influence sufficient to recall that 
pernicious vote. The House of Commons undoubtedly 
consider their duty to the Crown as paramount to all other 
obligations. To us they are only indebted for an acci- 
dental existence, and have justly transferred their grati- 
tude from their parents to their benefactors; from those 
who gave them birth, to the Minister from whose benev- 
olence they derive the comforts and pleasures of their 
political life, who has taken the tenderest care of their 
infancy, and relieves their necessities, without offending 
their delicacy. But, if it were possible for their integ- 
rity to be degraded to a condition so vile and abject 



38 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

that, compared with it, the present estimation they 
stand in, is a state of honour and respect, consider, Sir, 
in what manner you will afterwards proceed. Can you 
conceive that the people of this country will long sub- 
mit to be governed by so flexible a House of Commons? 

" 'It is not in the nature of himian society that 
any form of government, in such circumstances, can 
long be preserved. In ours, the general contempt of the 
people is as fatal as their detestation. Such, I am per- 
suaded, would be the necessary effect of any base con- 
cession made by the present House of Commons, and, 
as a qualifying measure would not be accepted, it re- 
mains for you to decide whether you will, at any haz- 
ard, support a set of men who have reduced you to this 
unhappy dilemma, or whether you will gratify the united 
wishes of the whole people of England by dissolving the 
Parliament. 

" 'Taking it for granted, as I do very sincerely, 
that you have personally no design against the constitu- 
tion, nor any views inconsistent with the good of your 
subjects, I think you cannot hesitate long upon the 
choice which it equally concerns your interest and your 
honour to adopt. On one side you hazard the affection 
of all your English subjects — you relinquish every hope 
of repose to yourself, and you endanger the establish- 
ment of your family for ever. All this you venture for 
no object whatsoever, or for such an object as it would 
be an affront to you to name. Men of sense will exam- 
ine your conduct with suspicion, while those who are 
incapable of comprehending to what degree they are 
injured, afflict you with clamours equally insolent and 
unmeaning. Supposing it possible that no fatal struggle 
should ensue, you determine at once to be unhappy, 
without the hope of a compensation either from interest 
or ambition. If an English King be hated or despised, 
he must be unhappy; and this, perhaps, is the only 
political truth which he ought to be convinced of with- 
out experiment. But if the English people should no 
longer confine their resentment to a submissive represen- 
tation of their wrongs — if, following the glorious example 
of their ancestors, they should no longer appeal to the 
creature of the constitution, but to that high Being who 
gave them the rights of humanity, whose gifts it were 
sacrilege to surrender — let me ask you, Sir, upon what 
part of your subjects would you rely for assistance? 



PART I 39 

" 'The people of Ireland have been uniformly plun- 
dered and oppressed. In return, they give you every 
day fresh marks of their resentment. They despise the 
miserable Governor you have sent them, because he is 
the creature of Lord Bute; nor is it from any natural 
confusion in their ideas that they are so ready to con- 
foimd the original of a King with the disgraceful repre- 
sentation of him. 

" 'The distance of the Colonies would make it im- 
possible for them to take an active concern in your af- 
fairs, if they were as well affected to your Government 
as they once pretended to be to your person. They 
were ready enough to distinguish between you and your 
Ministers. They complained of an act of the legislature 
but traced the origin of it no higher than to the servants 
of the Crown; they pleased themselves with the hope 
that their Sovereign, if not favourable to their cause, at 
least was impartial. The decisive, personal part you 
took against them, has effectually banished that first 
distinction from their minds. They consider you as 
united with your servants against America, and know 
how to distinguish the Sovereign and a venal Parlia- 
ment on one side, from the real sentiments of the Eng- 
lish people on the other. Looking forward to inde- 
pendence, they might possibly receive you for their 
King; but if you ever retire to America, be assured they 
will give you such a covenant to digest as the Presby- 
tery of Scotland would have been ashamed to offer to 
Charles the Second. They left their native land in 
search of freedom, and found it in a desert. Divided as 
they are into a thousand forms of policy and religion, 
there is one point in which they aU agree — they equally 
detest the pageantry of a King and the supercilious 
hypocrisy of a bishop. 

" Tt is not then from the alienated affection of Ire- 
land or America that you can reasonably look for 
assistance; still less from the people of England, who 
are actually contending for their rights, and in this 
great question are parties against you. You are not, 
however, destitute of every appearance of support — you 
have all the Jacobites, Non-jurors, Roman Catholics, and 
Tories of this country, and all Scotland, without excep- 
tion. Considering from what family you are descended, 
the choice of your friends has been singularly directed; 
and truly, Sir, if you had not lost the Whig interest of 



40 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

England, I should admire your dexterity in turning the 
hearts of your enemies. Is it possible for you to place 
any confidence in men who, before they are faithful to 
you, must renounce every opinion and betray every 
principle, both in Church and State which they inherit 
from their ancestors, and are confirmed in by their 
education? Whose numbers are so inconsiderable, that 
they have long since been obliged to give up the princi- 
ples and language which distinguished them as a party, 
and to fight under the banners of their enemies? Their 
zeal begins with hypocrisy and must conclude in treach- 
ery. At first they deceive — at last they betray. 

" 'As to the Scotch, I must suppose your heart and 
understanding so biased from your earliest infancy in 
their favour, that nothing less than your own misfortunes 
can undeceive you. You will not accept of the uniform 
experience of your ancestors; and when once a man is 
determined to believe, the very absurdity of the doctrine 
confirms him in his faith. A bigoted understanding can 
draw a proof of attachment to the house of Hanover, 
from a notorious zeal for the house of Stuart, and find 
an earnest of future loyalty in former rebellions. Ap- 
pearances are, however, in their favour; so strongly in- 
deed, that one would think they had forgotton that you 
are their lawful King, and had mistaken you for a pre- 
tender to the Crown. Let it be admitted, then, that 
the Scotch are as sincere in their present professions as 
if you were in reality not an Englishman, but a Briton 
of the North. You would not be the first prince of 
their native country against whom they have rebelled, 
nor the first whom they have basely betrayed. Have 
you forgotten. Sir, or has your favourite concealed from 
you, that part of our history, when the unhappy Charles 
(and he too had private virtues) fled from the open, 
avowed indignation of his English subjects, and sur- 
rendered himself at discretion to the good faith of his 
own countrymen? Without looking for support in their 
affections as subjects, he applied only to their honour, 
as gentlemen, for protection. They received him, as 
they would your Majesty, with bows, and smiles, and 
falsehood, and kept him, until they had settled their 
bargain with the English Parliament; then basely sold 
their native King to the vengeance of his enemies. This, 
Sir, was not the act of a few traitors, but the deliberate 
treachery of a Scotch Parliament representing the nation. 



PART I 41 

A wise prince might draw from it two lessons of equal 
utility to himself. On one side he might learn to dread 
the undisguised resentment of a generous people, who 
dare openly assert their rights, and who, in a just cause, 
are ready to meet their Sovereign in the field. On the 
other side, he would be taught to apprehend something 
far more formidable — a fawning treachery against which 
no prudence can guard, no courage can defend. The 
insidious smile upon the cheek would warn him of the 
canker in the heart. 

" 'From the uses to which one part of the army 
has been too frequently applied, you have some reason 
to expect that there are no services they would refuse. 
Here, too, we trace the partiality of your understanding. 
You take the sense of the army from the conduct of the 
guards, with the same justice with which you collect the 
sense of the people from the representations of the Min- 
istry. Your marching regiments. Sir, will not make the 
guards their example either as soldiers or subjects; they feel 
and resent, as they ought to do, that invariable, undistin- 
guishing favour with which the guards are treated; 
while those gallant troops by whom every hazardous, 
every laborious service is performed, are left to perish 
in garrisons abroad, or pine in quarters at home, neg- 
lected and forgotten. If they had no sense of the great 
original duty they owe their country, their resentment 
would operate like patriotism, and leave your cause to 
be defended by those to whom you have lavished the 
rewards and honours of their profession. The Praeto- 
rian bands, enervated and debauched as they were, had 
still strength enough to awe the Roman populace; but 
when the distant legions took the alarm, they marched 
to Rome and gave away the Empire. 

" 'On this side, then, which ever way you turn your 
eyes, you see nothing but perplexity and distress. You 
may determine to support the very Ministry who have 
reduced your affairs to this deplorable situation — you 
may shelter yourself under the forms of a parliament, 
and set your people at defiance. But be assured. Sir, 
that such a resolution would be as imprudent as it 
would be odious. If it did not immediately shake your 
establishment, it would rob you of your peace of mind 
for ever. 

" 'On the other, how different is the prospect! How 
easy, how safe and honourable is the path before you! 



42 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

The English nation declare they are grossly injured by 
their representatives, and solicit your Majesty to exert 
your lawful prerogative, and give them an opportunity 
of recalling a trust which, they find, has been scan- 
dalously abused. You are not to be told that the power 
of the House of Commons is not original, but delegated 
to them for the welfare of the people from whom they 
received it. A question of right arises between the 
constituent and the representative body. By what 
authority shaU it be decided? Will your Majesty inter- 
fere in a question in which you have properly no imme- 
diate concern? It woiild be a step equally odious and 
unnecessary. Shall the Lords be called upon to deter- 
mine the rights and privileges of the Commons? They 
cannot do it without a flagrant breach of the constitu- 
tion. Or will you refer it to the judges? They have 
often told your ancestors that the law of Parliament is 
above them. What part then remains but to leave 
it to the people to determine for themselves? They 
alone are injured, and, since there is no superior power 
to which the cause can be referred, they alone ought to 
determine. 

" T do not mean to perplex you with a tedious 
argument upon a subject already so discussed, that in- 
spiration could hardly throw a new light upon it. 
There are, however, two points of view in which it par- 
ticularly imports your Majesty to consider the late pro- 
ceedings of the House of Commons. By depriving a 
subject of his birthright, they have attributed to their 
own vote an authority equal to an act of the whole 
legislature; and, though perhaps not with the same 
motives, have strictly followed the example of the Long 
Parliament, which first declared the regal office useless, 
and soon after, with as little ceremony, dissolved the 
House of Lords. The same pretended power which 
robs an Enghsh subject of his birthright may rob an 
English King of his crown. In another view, the reso- 
lution of the House of Commons, apparently not so 
dangerous to your Majesty, is still more alarming to 
your people. Not contented with divesting one man of 
his right, they have arbitrarily conveyed that right to 
another. They have set aside a return as illegal, with- 
out daring to censure those officers who were particu- 
larly apprized of Mr. Wilkes's incapacity; not only by 
the declaration of the House, but expressly by the writ 



PART I 43 

directed to them, and who, nevertheless, returned him 
as duly elected. They have rejected the majority of 
votes, the only criterion by which our laws judge of the 
sense of the people; they have transferred the right of 
election from the collective to the representative body; 
and, by these acts, taken separately or together, they 
have essentially altered the original constitution of the 
House of Commons. Versed as your Majesty undoubt- 
edly is in the English history, it cannot easily escape 
you how much it is your interest, as well as your duty, 
to prevent one of the three estates from encroaching 
upon the province of the other two, or assuming the 
authority of them all. When once they have departed 
from the great constitutional line by which all their pro- 
ceedings should be directed, who will answer for their 
future moderation? Or what assurance will they give 
you, that when they have trampled upon your equals, 
they will submit to a superior? Your Majesty may 
learn hereafter how nearly the slave and tyrant are 
allied. 

" 'Some of your council, more candid than the rest, 
admit the abandoned profligacy of the present House of 
Commons, but oppose their dissolution upon an opinion, 
I confess, not very unwarrantable, that their successors 
would be equally at the disposal of the treasury. I can- 
not persuade myself that the nation will have profited so 
little by experience. But if that opinion were well 
founded, you might then gratify our wishes at an easy 
rate, and appease the present clamour against your 
Government, without offering any material injury to the 
favourite cause of corruption. 

" 'You have still an honourable part to act. The 
affections of your subjects may still be recovered. But 
before you subdue their hearts you must gain a noble 
victory over your own. Discard those little personal 
resentments which have so long directed your public 
conduct. Pardon this man [Wilkes] the remainder of 
his punishment; and, if resentment still prevails, make 
it what it should have been long since — an act, not of 
mercy, but of contempt. He will soon fall back into 
his natural station — a silent senator, and hardly support- 
ing the weekly eloquence of a newspaper. The gentle 
breath of peace would leave him on the surface neglect- 
ed and unremoved. It is only the tempest that lifts 
him from his place. 



44 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

" 'Without consulting your Minister, call together 
your whole council. Let it appear to the public that 
you can determine an act for yourself. Come forward 
to your people. Lay aside the wretched formalities of 
a King, and speak to your subjects with the spirit of a 
man, and in the language of a gentleman. Tell them 
you have been fatally deceived. The acknowledgment 
will be no disgrace, but rather an honour to your under- 
standing. Tell them you are determined to remove 
every cause of complaint against your Government, that 
you will give your confidence to no man who does not 
possess the confidence of your subjects; and leave it to 
themselves to determine, by their conduct at a future 
election, whether or no it be in reality the general sense 
of the nation that their rights have been arbitrarily in- 
vaded by the present House of Commons, and the con- 
stitution betrayed. They will then do justice to their 
representatives and to themselves. 

" 'These sentiments. Sir, and the style they are 
conveyed in, may be offensive, perhaps, because they 
are new to you. Accustomed to the language of court- 
iers, you measure their affections by the vehemence of 
their expressions; and, when they only praise you indi- 
rectly, you admire their sincerity. But this is not a 
time to trifle with your fortune. They deceive you. Sir, 
who tell you that you have many friends whose affec- 
tions are founded upon a principle of personal attach- 
ment. The first foundation of friendship is not the pow- 
er of conferring benefits, but the equality with which 
they are received and may be returned. The fortune 
which made you a King, forbade you to have a friend. 
It is a law of nature which cannot be violated with im- 
punity. The mistaken prince who looks for friendship, 
will find a favourite, and in that favourite, the ruin of 
his affairs. 

" 'The people of England are loyal to the house of 
Hanover, not from a vain preference of one family to 
another, but from a conviction that the establishment 
of that family was necessary to the support of their 
civil and religious liberties. This, Sir, is a principle of 
allegiance equally solid and rational; fit for English- 
men to adopt, and well worthy of your Majesty's en- 
couragement. We cannot long be deluded by nominal 
distinctions. The name of Stuart, of itself, is only con- 
temptible; armed with the sovereign authority, their 



PART I 45 

principles are formidable. The prince who imitates 
their conduct, should be warned by their example; and, 
while he plumes himself upon the security of his title 
to the crown, should remember that, as it was acquired 
by one revolution, it may be lost by another.' 

JUNIUS." 

The foregoing is a very powerful criticism of the Govern- 
ment. It was on account of the publication of this letter 
by Mr. Woodfall, that he was prosecuted by the Govern- 
ment, arrested and confined for some time in the Tower of 
London. 

The Duke of Grafton was removed as Prime Minister, 
on the 2Sth of January, 1770, and Lord North was appointed 
by the King to succeed him. A new Ministry was formed 
by him of persons who were in harmony with him and the 
King. 

Meanwhile, the Government was doing all in its power 
to find out who was the author of the Junius Letters, in order 
to arrest him, enter a prosecution against him, and punish 
him to the full extent of the law. 

The King, the Ministry and the Parliament were tremb- 
ling under his severe strictures, and the people were restless 
and discontented because of the mismanagement of the Gov- 
ernment, which was then in a deplorable condition. The 
most violent speeches were made in Parliament by Edmund 
Burke, Lord North and others, against the author of those 
remarkable Letters. I will quote a part of the speech of 
Mr. Burke, in order that the reader may see the temper of 
Parliament against the mysterious Junius; but all that was 
done and said on the subject, did not result in the discovery 
of this vexatious writer. 

Directing his remarks to Lord North, then Prime Min- 
ister, Edmund Burke, the acknowledged leader of the Eng- 
lish Parliament, has this to say of Junius and his Letters, 
which were appearing in the "Public Advertiser": "How 
comes this Junius to have broke through the cobwebs of the 
law, and to range uncontrolled, unpunished through the 
land? The myrmidons of the court have been long, and are 



46 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

still, pursuing him in vain .... But what will all 
their efforts avail? .... No sooner has he wounded 
one than he lays down another dead at his feet. For my 
part, when I saw his attack upon the King, I own my blood 
ran cold. I thought he had ventured too far, and there was 
an end of his triumphs, not that he had not asserted many 
truths — yes, sir, there are in that composition many bold 
truths, by which a wise prince might profit. It was the ran- 
cour and venom with which I was struck .... But 
while I expected, in his daring flight, his final ruin and folly, 
behold him rising still higher, and coming down souse upon 
both Houses of Parliament. Yes, he did make you his 
quarry, and you still bleed from the wounds of his talons. 
You crouched, and still crouch, beneath his rage. Nor has 
he dreaded the terrors of your brow. Sir, he has attacked 
even you — he has — and I believe you have no reason to tri- 
umph in the encounter. In short, after carrying away our 
Royal Eagle in his pounces, and dashing -him against a rock, 
he has laid you prostrate — Kings, Lords, and Commons, are 
but the sport of his fury." 

Shortly thereafter a very malignant prosecution was 
commenced by the Government against Mr. Woodfall, as 
the editor and proprietor of the "Public Advertiser," for 
publishing The Letter to the King, to which I have already 
alluded. The case was heard before Lord Chief Justice 
Mansfield, the Law Minister of the Crown, in the Court of 
King's Bench, at Guildhall; and, although he used all of his 
personal influence, and all the bias of his nature, in attempt- 
ing to secure a verdict from the jury in favor of the Govern- 
ment, yet, very much to his chagrin, they brought in a 
verdict of "Guilty of Printing and Publishing only," which 
amounted almost to an acquittal. 

Several motions were made by the Government to have 
the verdict amended, and entered up as a conviction against 
the defendant, but it was so very plain as to what the jury 
intended, that Lord Mansfield could not, with any propriety 
or self-respect, rule in favor of the motions to amend the 
verdict. Finally the prosecution was dropped. In the mean- 



PART I 47 

time, Mr. Woodfall was under arrest, and imprisoned in the 
Tower, which caused him great mental anguish, inconveni- 
ence and mortification during this trying ordeal, and he was 
put to heavy expense in making his defense to this wicked 
prosecution. But Junius stood firmly by him through all 
his troubles, aiding him liberally with money and advice; 
and all the while he was pouring volley after volley of "hot 
shot" into Lord Mansfield, the trial Judge, in his most pow- 
erful invectives, through the "Public Advertiser." He took 
up the conduct of the Court in all of its phases, exposing his 
one-sided charges to the jury in favor of the Government, 
showing his over- weening desire to convict the defendant. 
Vide Vol. I, page 305, and page 471, "Junius by Woodfall," 
to which the reader is referred, as it would take up too 
much space to insert them here. 

Afterwards, Junius revised, corrected and compiled his 
political letters, with several others, and presented the copy- 
right of the same to Mr. Woodfall, as he said, to somewhat 
compensate him for his sufferings and expenses incident to 
the wicked prosecution which the Government projected 
against him for publishing the "Letter to the King." No 
doubt this proceeding against Mr. Woodfall had a two-fold 
purpose. First, to punish him severely, and second, to find 
out, if possible, from him, who was the author of the Junius 
Letters, so that he could be arrested, and likewise, be sorely 
punished. But they made a signal failure in both; they did 
not succeed in compelling Mr. Woodfall to disclose the au- 
thor's name, probably because he did not really know it, 
then. It was a very generous act on the part of Junius to 
give Mr. Woodfall the copyright to his Letters, as it doubt- 
less enabled him to realize quite a little fortune from their 
publication. History says the book was sold in almost every 
portion of the civilized world. — Vol. I, p. 80 of Woodfall's 
Junius. 

This was in keeping with the course which Junius always 
pursued in relation to all of his writings, even in his after 
life, to which I shall refer later on in this volume. He said 
that he did not write for profit, but for the cause and the 



48 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

people. Had he written for the emoluments which would 
have accrued to him, he could doubtless have amassed a 
large fortune from the publication and sale of his works. 

The appointment of Lord North to the head of the 
Ministry was a great disappointment to Junius, and to the 
entire Whig party. He and they hoped and expected that 
Lord Chatham, their boasted leader, would get the appoint- 
ment, and that the Ministry would be composed prin- 
cipally of men belonging to their party, of known ability 
and integrity, which would have greatly improved the 
condition of affairs in the Government, and would have 
pacified the people. But he was not disheartened in the 
turn which things had taken. He stunmoned his best efforts 
to keep up the fight, and win over the King to their aid, in 
which he enlisted the Whig party to his support. 

He vigorously kept up his correspondence in the "Pub- 
lic Advertiser," first attacking one, and then another of the 
Ministry of Lord North with his brilliant invectives, keeping 
them continually in a state of unrest and political excite- 
ment, hoping finally to improve the personality of the Min- 
istry, and thereby help to relieve the condition of the people, 
whose welfare was always topmost with him. It is a well- 
known historical fact that he never sought any preferment 
for himself. He never seemed to have coveted wealth or 
position. He was always for the ''cause" and "the people." 
On the fourteenth day of February, 1770, he wrote another 
very severe letter to the Duke of Grafton, who had recently 
been dismissed by the King from the head of the Ministry, 
seemingly to remind him, and the public of his former mis- 
deeds, a copy of which letter is here inserted: 

LETTER XXXVI 

TO HIS GRACE, THE DUKE OF GRAFTON 

February 14, 1770 
"My Lord: 

If I were personally your enemy, I might pity and 
forgive you. You have every claim to compassion that 
can arise from misery and distress. The condition you 



PART I 49 

are reduced to would disarm a private enemy of his 
resentment, and leave no consolation to the most vin- 
dictive spirit, but that such an object as you are would 
disgrace the dignity of revenge. But in the relation you 
have borne to this country, you have no title to indul- 
gence; and if I had followed the dictates of my own 
opinion, I never should have allowed you the respite of 
a moment. In your pubHc character you have injured 
every subject of the Enpire; and though an individual 
is not authorized to forgive the injuries done to society, 
he is called upon to assert his separate share in the pub- 
lic resentment. I submitted, however, to the judgment 
of men more moderate, perhaps more candid, than my- 
self. For my own part, I do not pretend to understand 
those prudent forms of decorum, those gentle rules of 
discretion which some men endeavor to unite with the 
conduct of the greatest and most hazardous affairs. 
Engaged in the defense of an honourable cause, I would 
take a decisive part, I should scorn to provide for a 
future retreat, or to keep terms with a man who pre- 
serves no measures with the public. Neither the abject 
submission of deserting his post in the hour of danger, 
nor even the sacred shield of cowardice should protect 
him. I would pursue him through life, and try the last 
exertion of my abilities to preserve the perishable in- 
famy of his name, and make it immortal. 

"What then, my Lord, is the event of all the sacri- 
fices you have made to Lord Bute's patronage and to 
your own unfortunate ambition? Was it for this you 
abandoned your earliest friendships — the warmest con- 
nections of your youth, and all those honourable engage- 
ments by which you once solicited, and might have ac- 
quired, the esteem of your country? Have you secured 
no recompense for such a waste of honour? Unhappy 
man! What party will receive the common deserter of all 
parties? Without a client to flatter, without a friend to 
console you, and with only one companion from the 
honest house of Bloomsbury, you must now retire into a 
dreadful solitude. At the most active period of life 
you must quit the busy scene and conceal yourself from 
the world if you would hope to save the wretched re- 
mains of a ruined reputation. The vices operate like 
age — bring on disease before its time, and in the prime 
of youth leave the character broken and exhausted. 



50 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"Yet your conduct has been mysterious as well as 
contemptible. Where is now that firmness or obstinacy 
so long boasted of by your friends and acknowledged by 
your enemies? We were taught to expect that you 
woiild not leave the ruin of this country to be completed 
by other hands, but were determined either to gain a 
decisive victory over the constitution, or to perish brave- 
ly at least behind the last dyke of the prerogative. You 
knew the danger and might have been provided for it. 
You took sufficient time to prepare for a meeting with 
your Parliament to coniirm the mercenary fidelity of 
your dependants, and to suggest to your Sovereign a 
language suited to his dignity, at least, if not to his 
benevolence and wisdom. Yet, while the whole kingdom 
was agitated with anxious expectation upon one great 
point, you meanly evaded the question, and instead of 
the explicit firmness and decision of a king, gave us 
nothing but the misery of a ruined grazier, and the 
whining piety of a Methodist. We had reason to expect 
that notice would have been taken of the petitions which 
the King has received from the English nation; and al- 
though I can conceive some personal motives for not 
yielding to them, I can find none, in common prudence 
or decency, for treating them with contempt. Be as- 
sured, my Lord, the English people will not tamely sub- 
mit to this unworthy treatment; they had a right to be 
heard; and their petitions, if not granted, deserved to be 
considered. Whatever be the real views and doctrine 
of a court, the Sovereign should be taught to preserve 
some forms of attention to his subjects, and if he will 
not redress their grievances, not to make them a topic 
of jest and mockery among lords and ladies of the bed- 
chamber. Injuries may be atoned for and forgiven; but 
insults admit of no compensation. They degrade the 
mind in its own esteem, and force it to recover its level 
by revenge. This neglect of the petitions was, however, 
a part of your original plan of government, nor will any 
consequences it has produced account for your deserting 
your Sovereign in the midst of that distress in which you 
and your new friends had involved him. One would 
think, my Lord, you might have taken this spirited reso- 
lution before you had dissolved the last of those early 
connections which once, even in your own opinion, did 
honour to your youth; before you had obliged Lord 
Granby to quit a service he was attached to; before you 



PART I 51 

had discarded one chancellor and killed another. To 
what an abject condition have you laboured to reduce 
the best of princes, when the unhappy man who yields 
at last to such personal instance and solicitation as never 
can be fairly employed against a subject feels himself 
degraded by his compliance, and is unable to survive 
the disgraceful honours which his gracious Sovereign had 
compelled him to accept! He was a man of spirit, for 
he had a quick sense of shame, and death has redeemed 
his character. I know your Grace too well to appeal to 
your feeHngs upon this event ; but there is another heart, 
not yet, I hope, quite callous to the touch of humanity, 
to which it ought to be a dreadful lesson for ever. 

Now, my Lord, let us consider the situation to 
which you have conducted, and in which you have 
thought it advisable to abandon, your royal master. 
Whenever the people have complained and nothing bet- 
ter could be said in defence of the measures of govern- 
ment, it has been the fashion to answer us, though not 
very fairly, with an appeal to the private virtues of our 
Sovereign. "Has he not, to relieve the people, surrend- 
ered a considerable part of his revenue? Has he not 
made the judges independent by fixing them in their 
places for life?" My Lord, we acknowledge the gra- 
cious principle which gave birth to these concessions, 
and have nothing to regret but that it has never been ad- 
hered to. At the end of seven years, we are loaded 
with a debt of above five hundred thousand pounds upon 
the civil list, and we now see the Chancellor of Great 
Britain tyrannically forced out of his office, not for want 
of abilities, not for want of integrity, or of attention to 
his duty, but for delivering his honest opinion in Parlia- 
ment upon the greatest constitutional question that has 
arisen since the revolution. We care not to whose pri- 
vate virtues you appeal; the theory of such a Govern- 
ment is falsehood and mockery; the practice is oppression. 
You have laboured then (though I confess to no pur- 
pose) to rob your master of the only plausible answer 
that ever was given in defence of his Government, — of 
the opinion which the people had conceived of his per- 
sonal honour and integrity. The Duke of Bedford was 
more moderate than your Grace. He only forced his 
master to violate a solemn promise made to an individ- 
ual. But you, my Lord, have successfully extended 
your advice to every political, every moral engagement. 



52 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 



that could bind either the magistrate or the man. The 
condition of a King is often miserable, but it required 
your Grace's abilities to make it contemptible. 

"You will say perhaps that the faithful servants in 
whose hands you have left him are able to retrieve his 
honour, and to support his Government. You have 
publicly declared, even since your resignation, that you 
approved of their measures and admired their charac- 
ters, particularly that of the Earl of Sandwich. What a 
pity it is, that with all this approbation, -you should 
think it necessary to separate yourself from such amia- 
ble companions! You forget, my Lord, that while you 
are lavish in the praise of men whom you desert, you 
are publicly opposing your conduct to your opinions, 
and depriving yourself of the only plausible pretence you 
had for leaving your sovereign overwhelmed with distress. 
I call it plausible, for, in truth, there is no reason what- 
soever less than the frowns of your master that could 
justify a man of spirit for abandoning his post at a 
moment so critical and important. It is in vain to 
evade the question. If you will not speak out, the pub- 
lic have a right to judge from appearances. We are 
authorized to conclude that you either differed from 
your colleagues whose measures you still affect to de- 
fend, or that you thought the administration of the 
King's affairs no longer tenable. You are at liberty to 
choose between the hypocrite and the coward. Your 
best friends are in doubt which way they shall incline. 
Your country unites the characters, and gives you credit 
for them both. For my own part I see nothing incon- 
sistent in your conduct. You began with betraying the 
people — you conclude with betraying the King. 

"In your treatment of particular persons you have 
preserved the uniformity of your character. Even Mr. 
Bradshaw declares that no man was ever so ill used as 
himself. As to the provision you have made for his 
family, he was entitled to it by the house he lives in. 
The successor of one Chancellor might well pretend to 
be the rival of another. It is the breach of private 
friendship which touches Mr. Bradshaw; and to say the 
truth, when a man of his rank and abilities has taken 
so active a part in your affairs, he ought not to have 
been let down at last with a miserable pension of fifteen 
hundred pounds a year. Colonel Luttrell, Mr. Onslow, 
and Governor Burgoyne, were equally engaged with you, 



PART I 63 

and have rather more reason to complain than Mr. 
Bradshaw. These are men, my Lord, whose friendship 
you should have adhered to, on the same principle on 
which you deserted Lord Rockingham, Lord Chatham, 
Lord Camden, and the Duke of Portland. We can 
easily account for your violating your engagements with 
men of honour, but why should you betray your natural 
connections? Why separate yourself from Lord Sand- 
wich, Lord Gower, and Mr. Rigby, or leave the three 
worthy gentlemen above-mentioned to shift for them- 
selves? With all the fashionable indulgence of the times, 
this country does not abound in characters like theirs; 
and you may find it a difficult matter to recruit the 
black catalogue of your friends. 

'The recollection of the royal patent you sold to 
Mr. Hine, obliges me to say a word in defense of a man 
whom you have taken the most dishonourable means to 
injure. I do not refer to the sham prosecution which 
you affected to carry on against him. On that ground 
I doubt not he is prepared to meet you with ten-fold 
recrimination, and set you at defiance. The injury you 
have done him affects his moral character. You knew 
that the offer to purchase the reversion of a place which 
has heretofore been sold under a decree of the Court of 
Chancery, however imprudent in his situation, would in 
no way tend to cover him with that sort of guilt which 
you wished to fix upon him in the eyes of the world. 
You laboured, then, by every species of false suggestion, 
and even by publishing counterfeit letters, to have it 
understood that he had proposed terms of accommoda- 
tion to you, and had offered to abandon his principles, 
his party, and his friends. You consulted your own 
breast for a character of consummate treachery, and 
gave it to the public for that of Mr. Vaughan. I think 
myself obliged to do this justice to an injured man, be- 
cause I was deceived by the appearances thrown out by 
your Grace, and have frequently spoken of his conduct 
with indignation. If he really be what I think him, 
honest, though mistaken, he will be happy in recovering 
his reputation, though at the expense of his understand- 
ing. Here, I see, the matter is likely to rest. Your 
Grace is afraid to carry on the prosecution. Mr. Hine 
keeps quiet possession of his purchase; and Governor 
Burgoyne, relieved from the apprehension of refunding 
the money, sits down for the remainder of his life in- 
famous and contented. 



64 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"I believe, my Lord, I may now take my leave of 
you forever. You are no longer that resolute Minister 
who had spirit to support the most violent measures — 
who compensated for the want of great and good qual- 
ities by a brave determination (which some people ad- 
mired and relied on) to maintain himself without them. 
The reputation of obstinacy and perseverance might 
have supplied the place of all the absent virtues. You 
have now added the last negative to your character, 
and meanly confessed that you are destitute of the 
common spirit of a man. 

"Retire then, my Lord, and hide your blushes 
from the world; for with such a load of shame, even 
black may change its color. A mind such as yoiirs, in 
the solitary hours of domestic enjoyment, may still find 
topics of consolation. You may find it in the memory 
of violated friendship; in the afflictions of an accom- 
plished prince whom you have disgraced and deserted, 
and in the agitation of a great country driven by your 
coimsels to the brink of destruction. 

"The palm of ministerial firmness is now transferred 
to Lord North. He tells us so himself with the pleni- 
tude of the ore rotundo; and I am ready enough to be- 
lieve that, while he can keep his place, he will not 
easily be persuaded to resign it. Your Grace was the 
firm Minister of yesterday; Lord North is the firm Min- 
ister of to-day. To-morrow, perhaps, his Majesty in his 
wisdom may give us a rival for you both. You are too 
well acquainted with the temper of your late allies to 
think it possible that Lord North should be permitted 
to govern this country. If we may believe common 
fame, they have shown him their superiority already. 
His Majesty is indeed too gracious to insult his subjects, 
by choosing his first Minister from among the domestics 
of the Duke of Bedford. That would have been too 
gross an outrage to the three kingdoms. Their purpose 
however, is equally answered by pushing forward this 
unhappy figure, and forcing it to bear the odium of 
measures which they in reality direct. Without immedi- 
ately appearing to govern, they possess the power and 
distribute the emoliunents of government as they think 
proper. They still adhere to the spirit of that calcula- 
tion which made Mr. Luttrell representative of Mid- 
dlesex. Far from regretting your retreat, they assure 
us very gravely that it increases the real strength of the 



PART I 66 

Ministry. According to this way of reasoning they will 
probably grow stronger and more flourishing every hour 
they exist; for I think there is hardly a day passes in 
which some one or other of his Majesty's servants does 
not leave them to improve by the loss of his assistance. 
But, alas! their countenances speak a different language. 
When :he members drop off, the main body cannot be 
insensible of its approaching dissolution. Even the 
violence of their proceedings is a signal of despair. Like 
broker tenants, who have had warning to quit the 
premiss, they curse their landlords, destroy the fixtures, 
throw everything into confusion, and care not what mis- 
chief tiey do to the estate. 

JUNIUS." 

Junus and the Whig Party finally succeeded in remov- 
ing the Tvorst element of the Ministry, and in the dissolution 
of Parliament, which was reformed by placing a better and 
more ccmpetent membership in their stead, and even the 
King became much more conservative than he formerly had 
been. All of these changes ameliorated the condition of 
thiigs, considerably, and restored peace and harmony among 
the people of England, as well as tranquillity to the American 
Colonies; all of whom had become worn out under the opera- 
tJDn of a very bad system of government. However, Junius 
aid the Whig Party were not entirely satisfied with even 
tiis condition of affairs, but sought to make other reforms, 
1>y improving the personnel of the Ministry, as well as the 
Parliament. 

History informs us that the condition of the Govern- 
ment had been so very much improved, that the people and 
their leaders had become reconciled by the improvement, and 
longed for tranquillity; therefore, they seemed to be willing 
to give up any further contention with the Government; and 
the Whig Party became lukewarm. However, Junius was 
disposed not to give up the fight, especially against Lord 
Mansfield, who was still in the Ministry, for reasons hereto- 
fore mentioned. He also paid his respects to Lord Hawke, 
Secretary of the King's Navy, ironically saying, among other 
things: "No expense should be spared to secure to him an 



JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 



honourable and affluent retreat from office." Soon afterward, 
the Secretary resigned. He also made some very severe at- 
tacks on Lord Barrington, Secretary of War. In Private 
Letters, No. 61, Vol. II, he says: "Next to the Duke of 
Grafton, I verily believe that the blackest heart in the king- 
dom belongs to Lord Barrington." 

It may be of interest to the reader to learn from whom 
Junius took his name. From all I can learn, it is more than 
probable that he took it from Lucius Junius Brutus, an emi- 
nent republican in Rome, who expelled the vile farquins 
from that city and country, on account of the foul indignity 
offered by Sextus Tarquinius to the helpless Lucretia, as 
well as for the other outrageous atrocities committed by 
them. He was also the founder of the Roman RepuMic. It 
is generally conceded that Junius was the author o: a few 
other letters, under the names "Lucius" and "Atticus," and 
probably one under the name of "Brutus," before he com- 
menced the Junius Letters. The name "Atticus" was prob- 
ably taken from Atticus T. Pomponius, a highly educated 
Roman patrician, who was an intimate friend of Cicero aid 
others of the notable men of Rome. 

The foregoing letters are very similar, and I may say 
almost identical in style, sentiment and doctrines with the 
Junius Letters. Possibly my readers would be interested to 
know the way in which Junius succeeded in concealing him- 
self from discovery as the author of the Letters. I will re- 
cite some of them: In his Letter No. 5, to Mr. Woodfall, he 
says: "Whenever you have anything to communicate to me, 
let the hint be thus: 'C at the same place, and direct to 
Mr. John Fretley [an assimied name], at the same Coffee 
House, where it is impossible I should be known.' " 

In his tenth letter to Mr. Woodfall, he says: "As to 
me, be assured that it is not in the nature of things that 
they [the Cavendishes] or you, or anybody else should know 
me, unless I make myself known. All arts or inquiries 
would be equally ineffectual." 

In his thirtieth letter to Mr. Woodfall, he writes about 
the celebrated actor, David Garrick, trying to find him out, 



PART I 57 

and scores him very severely for his impertinence. He says 
to Mr. Woodfall: "I must be more cautious than ever: I 
am sure I should not survive a discovery three days, or if 
I did, they would attaint me by bill." "Change to Somer- 
set Coffee House, and let no mortal know the alteration. I 
am persuaded you are too honest a man to contribute, in 
any way, to my destruction. Act honourably by me, and at 
the proper time you shall know me." 

He takes many other precautions to conceal his identity. 
He sent most of his letters by Penny Post, at other times 
by a chairman, or some obscure person. Occasionally he 
disguised himself and secretly delivered his letters to the of- 
fice of Mr. Woodfall. 

Mr. Woodfall generally addressed Ms letters to Junius, 
under the name of Mr. John Fretley, or Mr. WilHam Middle- 
ton. In these different ways, Junius managed to conceal his 
personality from everybody; and, in my opinion, from all 
that I have read on the subject, no one ever found him out, 
except possibly Mr. Woodfall, his publisher, as it seems to 
me that it was almost impossible for him to have carried on 
their voluminous correspondence without being known to 
each other. Besides, as above stated, Junius told Mr. Wood- 
fall that if he acted honorably by him he should know him 
at the proper time. 

It is likely that Junius gave him a mere hint from which 
Mr. Woodfall made out his identity. Mr. Woodfall is said 
to have been a scrupulously honorable man, and would never 
have betrayed the confidence which Junius may have reposed 
in him. 

The reader may be curious to know how and where 
Junius procured such quick and accurate information on all 
that transpired in connection with the Government. At 
that time, there were two distinct parties in England: The 
Royalist Party and the Whig Party. The latter was headed 
by Lord Chatham, who was, perhaps the ablest statesman 
in the kingdom. Lords Temple, Rockingham and Camden, 
and John Calcraft, a member of the House of Commons, 
with many other lesser lights, also belonged to the Whig 



58 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Party, all of whom were in positions, in the Ministry or 
Parliament, which enabled them to be perfectly and quickly 
informed as to what was going on in every department of the 
Government. Mr. Woodfall, the proprietor of the "PubHc 
Advertiser," was the publisher of current events of the day, 
which appertained to the welfare of the Whig Party, and 
Junius was its mouthpiece. Junius was always on the alert 
to find out all that transpired with the King, the Ministry 
and Parliament, and Mr. Woodfall was eager to accumulate 
all the news he could, much of which he received from those 
leaders of the Whig Party, which in turn he secretly and 
clandestinely imparted to Junius, to be by him, put in 
proper shape for publication in the "Public Advertiser." 
Mr. Calcraft was a prolific source, from whom much of this 
information proceeded. He was a warm friend of Lord 
Holland, who belonged to the Ministry, and stood close to 
the King, which enabled him to keep well posted on what 
transpired in that quarter, which no doubt, he conveyed to 
Mr. Calcraft, and this may account for Junius being a little 
partial to Lord Holland. 

Inasmuch as I have copied and cited many of his letters, 
of the highest merit for scholarship as well as statesmanship, 
it may not be amiss in me to give to the reader my impres- 
sions and opinion of the characteristics of Junius and his 
very remarkable Letters, which have excited so much inter- 
est in the literary world. 

I wish all my readers were as familiar with these as I 
am, in order that they might more fully appreciate their 
merits, for the good which they have accomplished over the 
civilized world, and especially in America, which I will more 
fully explain in the succeeding part of this book. I think I 
can say without the fear of successful contradiction, that 
the Letters of Junius are the greatest literary productions of 
which we have any knowledge, and I believe that the ablest 
of critics fully coincide with me in this opinion. 

The remarkable ease and fluency with which his letters 
are written; the choice selection of his words, and the facil- 
ity with which he arranged them in his sentences; the concise 



PART I 59 

statement of his facts, and the admirable harmony of the 
whole: all clearly demonstrate his complete mastery of the 
EngHsh language. His style is epigrammatic, very polished, 
and easily comprehended. His periods are well rounded and 
complete. His sentences are mostly of uniform length, giving 
them a certain harmony and rhythm, which is very pleasing 
to the ear. His facts are concisely grouped together, and 
carry conviction to the mind of the reader. His arguments 
are logical and overwhelming in their force against his adver- 
sary. His antitheses, which are frequent, are highly demon- 
strative of the ideas which he undertakes to convey. His 
comparisons are lucid, and seldom fail to accomplish his aim. 
His syllogisms are perfectly formed, and usually carry con- 
viction with them. His sarcasm and criticisms are caustic 
in the extreme, and his victim keenly feels their lacerating 
effect. His irony, in which his Letters abound, is bitter and 
severe. His ridicule is overpowering to his adversary. His 
metaphors are brilliant, one of which I will here insert: 
"Private credit is wealth, public honor is security. The 
feather which adorns the royal bird, supports its flight. 
Strip him of his pltmiage, and you fix him to the earth." 
This is an elegant and true expression. 

His interrogations, in which he delights, are very pointed 
and generally bring the person interrogated to his knees. 
His innuendoes always force a blush to the cheek of his vic- 
tim. Altogether, when he makes a charge or an assertion, 
he has the facts to sustain him. His writings all indicate 
that he was a man of fine education; thoroughly acquainted 
with ancient and modem history, and perfectly familiar 
with the ancient classics. He was a fearless, aggressive and 
courageous writer, always ready to defend his ideas and doc- 
trines to the last extremity. 

He was evidently bom and reared as one of the people, 
was in thorough sjmipathy with them, and had no affiliation 
whatever with the aristocracy. He was a pronounced re- 
publican in his ideas about Government, and despised a 
monarchy in all of its departments. There is absolutely no 



60 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

levity in his writings; he is always dignified, reserved and 
rather sedate. 

While on this branch of my subject, I will state what 
others thought of this wonderful literary prodigy and his re- 
markable Letters. 

Dr. John Mason Good, a very clever and elaborate 
critic, has written a very exhaustive commentary on the sub- 
ject, of about ninety pages, which shows great research and 
mental labor, which he calls the '^Preliminary Essay on 
Junius and His Writings ^ It will be found in the front 
part of Vol. I of Bohn's Standard Library, entitled "Wood- 
fall's Junius," and is well worth the reading of any one; por- 
tions of which I will copy for the edification and entertain- 
ment of my readers: 

Dr. John Mason Good, in his "Preliminary Essay on 
Junius and His Writings," says: 

"It was not from personal vanity, but a fair estimate of 
his own merit, and the importance of the subject on which 
he wrote, that the author of the ensuing letters predicted 
their immortality. Their matter and their manner, the 
times they describe, and the talents they disclose, the popu- 
larity which attended them at their outset, the impression 
they produced on the public mind, and the triimiph of most 
of the doctrines they inculcate, all equally concur in stamp- 
ing for them a passport to the most distant posterity." 



"A series of unsuccessful ministries, often profligate and 
corrupt, and not infrequently cunning, rather than capable; 
a succession of weak and obsequious parliaments, and an 
arbitrary, though able Chief Justice, addicted to the impolitic 
measures of the Cabinet, fatally concurred to confound 
the relative powers of the State, and equally to unhinge the 
happiness of the Crown and of the people; to frustrate all 
the proud and boasted triimiphs of a glorious war, concluded 
but a few years before by an inglorious peace; to excite uni- 
versal contempt abroad, and universal discord at home. 



PART I 61 

Hence France, humiliated as she was by her losses and de- 
feats, did not hesitate to invade Corsica in open defiance 
of the remonstrances of the British Minister, and succeeded 
in obtaining possession of it; whilst Spain dishonourably re- 
fused to make good the ransom she had agreed to, for the 
restoration of the capital of the Phillipine Isles, which had 
been exempted from pillage upon this express stipulation. 
They saw the weakness and distraction of the English Cabinet, 
and had no reason to dread the chastisement of a new war. 

"The discontents in the American Colonies, which a lit- 
tle address might at first have stifled, were blown into a 
flame of open rebellion, through the impolitic violence of the 
very Minister who was appointed, by the creation of a new 
office at this very time, and for this express purpose, to ex- 
amine into the causes of dissatisfaction, and to redress the 
grievances complained of; while, at home, the whole of the 
ways and means of the Ministry, instead of being directed 
against the arrogance of the common enemy, were exhausted 
against an individual" [John Wilkes]. 



"It was at this period, and under these circumstances, 
that the Junius Letters successively made their appearance 
in the "Public Advertiser," the most current newspaper of 
the day. The classic purity of their language, the exquisite 
force and perspicuity of their argument, the keen severity 
of their reproach, the extensive information they evince, 
their fearless and decisive tone, and, above all, their stem 
and steady attachment to the purest principles of the con- 
stitution, acquired for them, with an almost electric speed, a 
popularity which no series of letters have since possessed, 
nor, perhaps, ever will; and what is of far greater conse- 
quence, diffused among the body of the people a clearer 
knowledge of their constitutional rights than they had ever 
before attained, and animated them with a more determined 
spirit to maintain them inx-iolate. Enveloped in the cloud 
of a fictitious name, the writer of these philippics, unseen 
himself, beheld with secret satisfaction the vast influence of 



62 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

his labours, and enjoyed, though, as we shall afterwards ob- 
serve, not always without apprehension, the universal hunt 
that was made to detect him in his disgmse. He beheld 
the people extolling him, the Court execrating him, the Min- 
isters and more than ministers trembling beneath the lash of 
his invisible hand." 



"While the editor of the present impression does not 
undertake, and, in fact, has it not in his power to communi- 
cate the real name of Junius, he pledges himself to prove, 
from incontrovertible evidence, afforded by the private let- 
ters of Junius himself during the period in question, in con- 
nection with other documents, that not one of these pretenders 
has ever had the smallest right to the distinction which some of 
them have ardently coveted.^' 

I think that Dr. Good has fulfilled the above pledge. 
The Doctor further says: "That he was not only a man of 
highly cultivated general talents and education, but who 
had critically and successfully studied the language, the law, 
the constitution and history of his native country, is indubit- 
able. Yet this is not all; the proofs are just as clear that 
he was also a man of independent fortune, that he had 
moved in the immediate circle of the Court, and was inti- 
mately acquainted, from its first conception, with almost 
every public measure, every ministerial intrigue, every domes- 
tic incident. 

"That he was a man of easy, if not affluent circum- 
stances, is unquestionable from the fact that he never could 
be induced in any way or shape to receive any acknowledg- 
ment from the proprietor of the "Public Advertiser," for the 
great benefit and popularity he conferred on this paper by 
his writings, and to which he was fairly entitled. When the 
first genuine edition of his letters was on the point of publi- 
cation, Mr. Woodfall again urged him either to accept half 
its profits, or to point out some public charity or other insti- 
tution to which an equal sum might be presented. His re- 
ply to this request is contained in a paragraph of one of his 



PART I 63 

Private Letters, No. 59, and confers credit on both the par- 
ties: 'What you say about the profits is very handsome. 
I Hke to deal with such men. As for myself, be assured 
that / am far above all pecuniary views, and no other person 
I think has any claim to share with you. Make the best of 
it therefore, and let all your views in life be directed to a 
solid, however moderate independence; without it no man 
can be happy, nor even honest.' " 

Of Junius's style Dr. Good has this to say: "The dis- 
tinguishing features of his style are ardour, spirit, perspi- 
cuity, classical correctness, sententious, epigrammatic com- 
pression, his characteristic ornaments, keen, indignant invec- 
tive, audacious interrogation, shrewd, severe, antithetic retort, 
proud, presumptuous disdain of the powers of his adversary, 
pointed and appropriate allusions, that can never be mis- 
taken. Similes, introduced, not for the purpose of decora- 
tion, but of illustration and energy; brilliant, burning, admira- 
bly selected and irresistible in their application." 



"To pursue this critique further would be to disparage 
the judgment of the reader. Upon the whole, these letters, 
whether considered as classical and correct compositions, or 
as addresses of popular and impressive eloquence, are well 
entitled to the distinction they have acquired; and quoted, 
as they have been, with admiration in the senate, by such 
nice judges and accomplished scholars as Mr. Burke and 
Lord Eldon, eulogized by Dr. Johnson, and admitted by the 
author of the 'Pursuits of Literature' to the same rank 
among English classics as Livy or Tacitus among Roman, 
there can be no doubt that they will live commensurately 
with the language in which they are composed." 



"From the observations contained in this esssay, it 
should seem to follow unquestionably that the author of the 
Letters of Junius was an Englishman of highly cultivated 



64 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

education, deeply versed in the language, the laws, the con- 
stitution and history of his native country; that he was a 
man of easy, if not affluent circumstances, of unsullied hon- 
our and generosity." 

The editor of "Junius by Woodfall" says: "Dr. Good, 
in the above elaborate dissertation, appears to have fairly 
cleared the stage of all pretenders to Junius's honours, up to 
the period of his editorship in 1812. Sixteen years later 
he seems to have considered the mystery as inscrutable as 
ever, though he admits that at the time he wrote, the claims 
of Sir Philip Francis had not been publicly advanced. But, 
with a full knowledge of Mr. Taylor's book 'Junius Identi- 
fied with a Distinguished Living Character,' he still continued 
skeptical; and in a letter to Mr. Barker, concludes despairing- 
ly, with the expression, 'That the great political enigma of 
the eighteenth century was likely to lie beyond the fathom- 
ing of any line and plimimet that will be applied to it in our 
days.' We insert the entire letter from the late Mr. Bar- 
ker's pleasant volume of literary melange on the Junius ques- 
tion: 

" 'Guilford Street, 
October 13th, 1826 
" 'Dear Sir: 

" 'Accept my thanks for your obliging copy of your 
first letter on the subject of Junius and Sir Philip Fran- 
cis. Many years ago, as you perhaps may be aware, I 
entered at full into this research, and beat the bush in every 
direction. At that time, however, the claims of Sir 
Philip Francis had not been advanced, at least not be- 
fore the public. But they had been brought forward; 
the arguments by which it is obvious they may be met, 
and many of which you have yourself ably handled, 
would, I think, have succeeded in putting him as com- 
pletely out of the list as all the other competitors appear 
to be put, whose friends have undertaken to bring them for- 
ward. The question is, nevertheless, one of great inter- 
est, as well on the score of national history, as of liter- 
ary curiosity. Yet, like many other desiderata, I am 
afraid it is likely to lie beyond the fathoming of any 
line and plummet that will be applied to it in our days. 
I shall be happy to hear of your success, and am, dear 
sir, faithfully yours, 

J. M. GOOD.' " 
" 'To E. H. Barker, Esq. 



PART I 65 

The foregoing plainly shows that Dr. Good did not 
think that Sir Philip Francis was the author of the Junius 
Letters. 

Mr. John Wade, another critic on the subject, thorough- 
ly investigated the claims made by the friends of these 
"would-be Juniuses," and he likewise put them all out of the 
contest. He says: "Junius has been a favourite theme of 
literary exercise, and there is not one of the above thirty-five 
names on which a book, pamphlet, review, essay or disquisi- 
tion has not been written, but almost the whole ntimber are 
inadmissible under the general class-rules previously estab- 
lished. I apprehend the field will be cleared of pretenders, 
up to the pubHcation of Woodfall's Junius in 1812." 

Junius appears to have been very much discouraged, as 
appears from his letter No. LVIII, Vol. I, pp. 408-409 of 
Bohn's Edition of Junius by Woodfall, a part of which I will 
copy. But he continues, most strenuously, to reconcile the 
desertions, especially in the Whig Party, with which he was 
fighting: 

LETTER LVni 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PUBLIC ADVERTISER 

"No man laments more than I do, the unhappy 
differences which have arisen among the friends of the 
people, and divided them from each other. The cause 
undoubtedly suffers as well by the diminution of that 
strength which union carries with it, as by the separate 
loss of personal reputation, which every man sustains 
• when his character and conduct are frequently held 
forth in odious or contemptible colours. These differ- 
ences are only advantageous to the common enemy of 
the country: the hearty friends of the cause are pro- 
voked and disgusted; the lukewarm advocate avails him- 
self of any pretense to relapse into that indolent indif- 
ference about everything that ought to interest an Eng- 
lishman, so unjustly dignified with the title of modera- 
tion; the false, invidious partisan, who creates or fo- 
ments the disorder, sees the fruits of his dishonest indus- 
try ripen beyond his hopes, and rejoices in the promise 
of a banquet, only delicious to such an appetite as his 



66 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

own. It is time for those who really mean the cause 
and the people, who have no view to private advantage, 
and who have virtue enough to prefer the general good 
of the community to the gratification of personal ani- 
mosities, — it is time for such men to interpose. Let us 
try whether these fatal dissensions may not yet be recon- 
ciled; or, if that be impracticable, let us guard at least 
against the worst effects of division, and endeavor to 
persuade these furious partisans, if they will not consent 
to draw together, to be separately useful to that cause 
which they all pretend to be attached to. Honour and 
honesty must not be renounced, although a thousand 
modes of right and wrong were to occupy the degrees 
of morality between Zeno and Epicurus. I speak to the 
people as one of the people. Let us employ these men 
in whatever departments their various abilities are best 
suited to, and as much to the advantage of the common 
cause as their different inclinations will permit. They 
cannot serve us without essentially serving themselves. 

"Would to God it were practicable to reconcile these 
important objects in every possible situation of public 
affairs. I regard the legal liberty of the meanest man 
in Britain as much as my own, and would defend it 
with the same zeal. I know we must stand or fall to- 
gether. In the shipwreck of the State, trifles float and 
are preserved, while everything solid and valuable sinks 
to the bottom, and is lost forever. 

JUNIUS." 

After the lapse of some time, he wrote the following: 

PRIVATE LETTER No. 63 

January 19, 1773 
To H. S. Woodfall: 

"I have seen the signals thrown out for your old 
friend and correspondent. Be assured that I have good 
reason for not complying with them. In the present 
state of things, if I were to write again, I must be as 
silly as any of the homed cattle that run mad through 
the city, or as any of your wise aldermen. / meant the 
cause and the public. Both are given up. I feel for the 
honour of this country, when I see that there are not 
ten men in it who will unite and stand together upon 
any one question. But it is all alike, vile and con- 
temptible. 



PART I 67 

" You have never flinched that I know of; and I 
shall always rejoice to hear of your prosperity. 

"If you have anything to communicate (of moment 
to yourself) you may use the last address, and give a 
hint." 

The last political letter of Junius was addressed to Lord 
Camden, on the 21st day of January, 1772, in which he 
urged him, as a member of the House of Lords, to make an 
attack on Chief Justice Mansfield on the question of his 
having illegally bailed John Eyre, who had stolen a large 
quantity of paper from the Government at Guildhall, was 
"caught with the goods" and should not have been bailed, 
but should have been committed to prison to await his trial. 

Junius intimated in his letter that Eyre was a Scotch- 
man, and therefore Lord Mansfield showed favor to him by 
illegally bailing him. Mansfield was a Scotchman, which 
was abhorrent to Junius. Notwithstanding, Junius made a 
very strong personal appeal to Lord Camden to make the 
attack on the Lord Chief Justice, and had furnished him 
with a copy of a very elaborate letter which he had recently 
written on the subject, in which he went into all the facts 
of the case, including the law, and in which he had made a 
very bitter attack on Lord Mansfield; still Lord Camden de- 
clined his request, although articles of impeachment against 
Lord Mansfield were then pending in Parliament, for his 
open and flagrant violation of the law of libel, as it then 
stood. 

I will copy portions of the LXIX letter of Junius to the 
Right Honourable Lord Camden, and will call the attention 
of the reader to the beautiful metaphor in the beginning of 
the letter: 

"January 21st, 1772 
"My Lord: 

I turn with pleasure from that barren waste, in 
which no salutary plant takes root, no verdure quickens, 
to a character fertile, as I willingly believe in every 
great and good qualification. I call upon you, in the 
name of the EngHsh nation, to stand forth in defense 
of the laws of your country, and to exert, in the cause 



68 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

of truth and justice, those great abilities with which you 
were intrusted for the benefit of mankind. The legal 
argument is submitted to your Lordship's judgment. 
After the noble stand you made against Lord Mansfield 
upon the question of libel, we did expect that you would 
not have suffered that matter to have remained unde- 
termined. 

"If there be a judge or lawyer of any note in West- 
minster Hall who shall be daring enough to affirm, that 
according to the true intendment of the laws of England, 
a felon, taken with the manner, in flagrante delicto, is 
bailable, or that the discretion of an English Judge is 
merely arbitrary, and not governed by rules of law, I 
should be glad to be acquainted with him. Whoever 
he be, I will take care that he shall not give you much 
trouble. Your Lordship's character assures me that 
you will assiune that principal part which belongs to 
you, in supporting the laws of England against a wicked 
Judge, who makes it the occupation of his life to misin- 
terpret and pervert them. 

"When the contest turns upon the interpretation of 
the laws, you cannot without a formal surrender of all 
your reputation, yield the post of honour even to Lord 
Chatham. Considering the situation and abilities of 
Lord Mansfield, I do not scruple to affirm, with the 
most solemn appeal to God for my sincerity, that, in my 
judgment, he is the very worst and most dangerous man 
in the kingdom. Thus far, I have done my duty in en- 
deavouring to bring him to punishment. But mine is an 
inferior ministerial office in the temple of justice. I 
have bound the victim, and dragged him to the altar. 

JUNIUS." 

This seems to have discouraged Junius, and he was very 
much disheartened, on account of many other changes in the 
political sentiments which had transpired among his coad- 
jutors in "the cause," which were much to his surprise and 
mortification. In his private letter to Mr. Woodfall, No. 59, 
dated March 6th, 1772, he says: "If I saw any prospect of 
uniting the City of London once more, I would readily con- 
tinue to labor in the vineyard. Whenever Mr. Wilkes can 
tell me that such an union is in prospect, he shall hear from 
me." 



PART I 69 

Afterwards, on January the 29th, 1773, in the very last 
letter which Junius wrote to Mr. Woodfall, he advances 
precisely the same motives for his continuing to desist from 
writing any more. (See page 29, Vol. I.) 

Owing to his recent discouragements, and the untoward 
circumstances which then surrounded him, Junius quit writing 
his political letters. It could truly have been said of him, 
"Othello's occupation is gone," at least for the time being. 
He then employed himself in revising and correcting his 
political letters which he presented as a gift to Mr. Woodfall 
for publication. This, and his private business, kept him 
employed for some time. But, as he before said in a letter 
to Mr. Woodfall, ^'Quod si quis Existimat me aut Voluntate 
Esse Mutata, aut Dehilitata Virtute, aut Animo Fracto, 
Vehementer Errat^' — which being translated, is as follows: 
"If anyone believes me to be changed in will, weakened in 
integrity, or broken in courage, he errs greatly." No! his 
ponderous intellect and powerful pen were not destined to 
remain inactive. Neither were his spirits broken. Another 
field soon opened to the talents of this extraordinary genius. 

JUNIUS NOW LEAVES LONDON AND COMES TO 

AMERICA IN THE PERSON OF THOMAS 

PAINE 

During the succeeding year, in the Autumn of 1774, 
the unknown Junius was introduced to the celebrated Ameri- 
can diplomat. Dr. Benjamin Franklin, by the distinguished 
English statesman. Lord Chatham, whom history says was 
a coadjutor of Junius in "the cause," and it is asserted that 
probably he had a suspicion of his identity. The Doctor 
represented the Colonies, at the Court of St. James, in Lon- 
don. No doubt he soon discovered that his new acquaint- 
ance was a man of talent, and also that he was a warm friend 
of the oppressed American Colonies; and probably Lord 
Chatham hinted that he was Junius. 

Therefore, he advised him to go to America, and gave 
him letters of introduction to some of his most prominent 



70 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

friends there. He thereupon took the advice of Dr. Frank- 
lin and soon left for Philadelphia; on his arrival there, he 
quickly got employment on the "Pennsylvania Magazine," 
and rapidly began making a reputation as a writer. He 
wrote many articles on the most important issues of the day, 
particularly on the political disturbances between England 
and America. 

All the while he was busy making himself acquainted 
with the condition of the Colonies, their resources, and the 
sentiments of the people towards Great Britain. This Amer- 
icanized Junius also began to study what course they should 
pursue to prevent further encroachments by England on their 
rights. In the meantime, he was busy preparing to write 
his first pamphlet, over a fictitious signature, as he had been 
doing in the Junius Letters, which he completed and pub- 
lished on the 21st day of January, 1775, of which 4000 copies 
were printed by him and distributed among all the Colonies. 
Almost every one procured a copy, and read it with pro- 
found interest, as they were anxious to know what remedy he 
proposed to ameliorate their condition. At first, they were 
struck with awe as they perceived that it would soon lead to 
open rebellion against Great Britain, which would be treason, 
the consequences of which they contemplated with horror. 
They felt that the Colonies were not prepared to make such 
an issue, and they had not given up all hope of making a 
compromise with England, although their petitions looking 
to this end had been spumed by the King and the Ministry. 

I will ask the reader if it would not have been very re- 
markable that such a powerful writer as Junius should have 
dropped his pen entirely, after having produced those won- 
derful letters, which had gained the admiration of the world, 
and never to have written anything else to be handed down 
to posterity? Furthermore, I will ask him if he believes 
that Junius retired to a life of insignificance? I, for one, do 
not, for a moment, entertain such an idea of this remarkable 
genius. I hope to convince my readers that the writings of 
this literary prodigy did not end with his Junius Letters, in 
London, but, that soon after he quit writing there, he again 



PART 1 71 

took up his versatile pen, and wrote other letters and pam- 
phlets, under an assumed name, along the identical lines of 
his first letters, in which he advocated the same doctrines, 
in another country, severely criticising the same King, Minis- 
try and Parliament, as he did over the signature of Junius; 
but under other and different circimistances. His subse- 
quent writings electrified the whole civilized world, shook the 
throne of England to its foundation, as well as other mon- 
archies, and won for him an imperishable glory for his great 
assistance in giving birth to a new and a powerful nation. 

But I find I am about to invade Part III of my subject 
before discussing Part II, therefore, I will here quit Part I 
by dropping the mysterious Junius for the present; but I 
will take him up again, under his real name, in Part III, of 
this volume, where I hope to prove his certain identity to 
the satisfaction of my readers. 



PART II 



PART n.— FRANCIS 

T_TAVING now finished the discussion of Part I of my 
■'■ ■*■ subject, I shall proceed to discuss Part II. As I 
have before stated, about thirty-eight different persons 
have been brought forward by their respective friends as 
claimants of the distinguished honor of being the author of 
the "Junius Letters," and have all been put out of the con- 
test by several eminent literary critics, in one way and an- 
other, by satisfactory modes of proof and sound reasoning. 
After the subject had lain dormant for about forty years, 
Mr. John Taylor, a new writer, all at once conceived that 
he had discovered a new author for those remarkable letters, 
in the person of the Rev. Philip Francis, an Episcopal clergy- 
man, who was then chaplain to Lord Holland, and was the 
father of Sir Philip Francis. 

After having written quite a long essay on the subject, 
he says: "But before I went to press, I requested a friend 
to call on Sir Philip Francis and consult him about it." Mr. 
Tajdor discovered his error. Sir Philip then had an inter- 
view with Mr. Taylor and told him "That he was surprised 
at the 'wild goose chase' which he was pursuing, in which 
he was wasting his time" in writing his pamphlets claiming 
the Rev. Philip Francis as author of the Junius Letters; he 
further stated to him: "That so many years had elapsed 
and so many fruitless attempts had been made to discover 
Junius, that it now seemed perfectly hopeless to expect he 
would ever be found out." "For he would be a lucky person 
indeed," continued Sir Philip, "who could find out Junius." 
"Why, it would make a man's fortune," he further added. 
Finding that these discouragements had failed to make the 
desired impression, he observed in parting with Mr. Taylor: 
"If you do persist in your purpose, I hope you will present 



76 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

me with a copy of your book." See page 87, Vol. II, of 
Junius by Woodfall, Bohn's Standard Library, and also page 88. 
Mr. Taylor very cunningly omitted the foregoing from his book, 
because he knew it would be a "clincher" against him. Conse- 
quently he "switched" the subject around and fixed the au- 
thorship of the Letters on Sir Philip Francis. Mr. Taylor 
likewise requested his friend to ask him (Francis) if he had 
any objection to his publishing his "new departure" on the 
subject; to which Francis replied: "You are quite at liberty 
to print whatever you think proper, provided nothing scan- 
dalous be said respecting my private character." Vide p. 7. 
This evasion of the question by Sir Philip seemed to 
have created the impression on the mind of Mr. Taylor that 
Francis admitted he was the author of the Letters. I think 
this was a very strained conclusion on the part of Mr. Tay- 
lor. However, he proceeded to enlarge his pamphlet to a 
book of four hundred pages. He eliminated the name of 
Doctor Francis and substituted in its place, the name of Sir 
Philip Francis and changed the title from "A Discovery of 
the Author of The Letters," to "The Identity of Junius with 
a Distinguished Living Character, Established," which Mr. 
Taylor applied to his new book; and, in the meantime, re- 
vised it, as above stated, and got it in readiness to go to the 
press for publication. Before proceeding any further, Mr. 
Taylor informs us that the editor of the "Monthly Magazine," 
wishing to write an editorial on the book, addressed a letter 
to Sir Philip Francis on the subject, in a way least likely to 
render the inquiry offensive; and in reply received the follow- 
ing epistle, which I insert at length, in justice to Sir Philip 
Francis and Mr. Taylor: "The great civility of your 

LETTER INDUCES ME TO ANSWER IT, WHICH, IF I WOULD RE- 
FER MERELY TO ITS SUBJECT MATTER, I SHOULD HAVE DE- 
CLINED, Whether you will assist in giving currency 
TO a silly malignant falsehood, is a question for your 
own discretion. To me it is a matter of perfect indif- 
ference. "I am yours and so forth, 

p. FRANCIS." 
To the editor of the "Monthly Magazine," July, 1813. 



PART II 77 

I cannot imagine how Mr. Taylor could have had the 
hardihood to proceed with the publication of his book, after 
receiving this sharp rebuke from Sir Philip Francis. On page 
9 of Mr. Taylor's book he says: "The editor thought either 
yes or no would be the frank reply, and in his own opinion 
he received the latter.'^ I do not see how any one could 
possibly construe the answer otherwise than a plain and a 
very positive negative, which meant that he was not the author. 

It appears to me rather strange that Mr. Taylor did 
not insert in the last edition of his book all the editor of 
the "Monthly Magazine" had to say about the answer of 
Sir Philip Francis. It is likely that the editorial put an end 
to the claim made by Mr. Taylor, that Francis was Junius, 
and that is why he left it out. I should be glad to know 
exactly what the editor said on the subject. I cannot see 
why the plain, unequivocal and emphatic answer of Sir 
Francis to the editor did not put this question forever at 
rest, so far as it concerned Sir Philip. 

Mr. E. H. Barker, a most excellent critic, on page 111 
of his hook entitled, *'The Claims of Sir Philip Francis to the 
Authorship of Junius's Letters, Disproved,'^ says: "Sir Philip 
Francis wrote to Sir Richard Phillips, the editor of the 'Month- 
ly Magazine,' stating that it was a 'silly malignant falsehood,' 
to attribute the authorship of the Letters to him.'' Mr. Barker 
says: "What language could be stronger, or more to the point?" 

He further says: "Upon the receipt of this communication, 
Sir Richard Phillips, the editor, immediately abandoned any 
further enquiry, perceiving the theory was built on an erro- 
neous supposition." Nevertheless, Mr. Taylor persisted in the 
publication of his book, after writing several pages of very weak 
arguments, trying in every way which ingenuity could devise 
or sophistry could invent, to prove just the opposite of the 
very plain language of the answer of Mr. Francis. He evi- 
dently felt the very stinging rebuke in the letter — that he 
was guilty of a "silly, malignant falsehood." He seemed to 
be trying to convince his readers that Mr. Francis was jok- 
ing, in his letter to the editor. See pages 12-16 of Taylor's 
book. 



78 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

All this occurred more than forty years after the Junius 
Letters were written and after all other claims of the honor 
had been swept away, except his claim in behalf of Francis, 
which he had signally failed to establish. 

It will be observed that the editor of the "Monthly 
Magazine" put the question of the authorship of the Letters 
clearly and fairly up to Mr. Francis, for him to affirm or de- 
ny, and he denied it. Francis knew that his answer would 
appear in all the public prints of the day. He further real- 
ized that if he falsely claimed the authorship of the Letters, 
the real author might be living, and would probably come 
out and publicly denounce him as a falsifier and prove it on 
him, which Junius very likely would have done; this would 
have stamped him with infamy among all his friends. But 
Sir Philip Francis was not that kind of a man. He was 
bom and bred a gentleman, and would not have been guilty 
of such a dastardly act. The reply m.ade by him was a 
very severe reflection on Mr. Taylor, as it accused him di- 
rectly of being the author of a '^ silly, malignant falsehood." 

Dr. Samuel Parr, quite an eminent author, says that 
Francis was not Junius, and gives many reasons why, in a 
letter to Mr. E. H. Barker, on pages 242 and 243 in Mr. 
Barker's book, already referred to by me, to which I would 
call the reader's attention. On page 447 of his book, Mr. 
Barker says: "The first letter which appeared under the 
signature of Junius brought the writer to instant and full 
celebrity." He further says: "Junius is immeasurably supe- 
rior to Francis in style, but his superiority in mind is still 
greater." Mr. Barker's book abounds in numerous facts and 
arguments going to show that Francis was not Junius. 

There are numerous historical facts which go to prove 
that Francis was not Junius, some of which I have already 
mentioned, and others will follow in their proper order. In 
some instances, I have taken extracts from history; in others, 
I refer to the books and pages only, for the reader to consult 
if he wishes; as it would extend this volume beyond its 
capacity to copy even one fourth of them. 



PART II 79 

Francis wrote a short essay on Government in the latter 
part of his Hfe, which he called "Regency," vide p. 216 of 
Taylor's book entitled "The Identity of Junius with a Dis- 
tinguished Living Character," in which Francis is made to 
copy many of the ideas and expressions of Junius, by Mr. 
Taylor, pp. 219, 220 and 222. 

I wish to call special attention of my readers to what 
his biographers, Parkes and Merivale say in the "Memoirs 
of Sir PhiHp Francis," as to his writings. In their "Prelim- 
inary Remarks" to the Memoirs, on page 7, Vol. I, they 
have this to say: "His acknowledged writings, though nu- 
merous, are of inferior interest, reprints of speeches, and 
pamphlets on subjects of temporary importance. His life 
was, on the whole a failure." On page 9 they further 
write: ''Now it is important to observe, and the more so in 
order to disabuse the public of possible anticipations, that 
the Francis papers, voluminous as they are, contain no word 
of confession on his part as to the authorship of Junius. 
Nor do they contain, so far as we have been able to dis- 
cover, any direct evidence of it whatever. ^^ On page 19 lb. 
these biographers further remark: "The late Mr. Thomas 
Wentworth Dilke, in a series of able articles in the 'Athe- 
naeum,' and 'Notes and Queries,' has critically exposed the 
insufficiency of evidence of all the false claims; still consid- 
ering that, for Sir Philip Francis, 'Unproven' and improb- 
able." These biographers are very partial to Mr. Francis, 
but they are very truthful throughout the two very large 
volumes of "The Memoirs." 

This book by Mr. Taylor was finished in 1816, forty- 
three years after the Junius Letters were written. He says 
on page 223: "To produce a few side facts from Junius, 
from which the preceding examples are maintained, in nearly 
the same words by Francis, will contribute more to certify 
his identity, as Sir Philip Francis, than any remarks which 
might be made upon them." He then cites numerous quo- 
tations from the "Regency," and from Junius, to prove 
their similarity. I agree they are similar, and in many 
instances are identical, as they were copied, almost literally. 



80 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

by Francis from Junius. They are pure plagiarisms, but do 
not in any way go to prove that Francis was Junius. On 
page 33, Mr. Taylor says, that many of the quotations from 
the "Regency" were "nearly coeval with the letters of 
Junius," when in fact they were written by Francis, thirty- 
seven years after the last letter of Junius, and after the 
mind of Francis had grown to maturity. I am sorry to say 
that Mr. Taylor does not always confine himself strictly to 
the truth in his arguments to sustain his contention. Oth- 
ers have said the same thing about him. 

Mr. Fraser Rae, an eminent writer on the subject, says 
on page 32 of the "Athenaeum" of Jan. 8th, 1898: "As 
Taylor's book is founded upon the false assumption of Fran- 
cis's expulsion from the War Office [he resigned], the book is 
entirely untrustworthy from title to colophon." 

Mr. Taylor narrates that Francis was expelled from the 
War Office, but Francis says that he voluntarily resigned. 
Mr. Taylor has a purpose in this. If he could have estab- 
lished the fact that Francis was expelled by Lord Barrington, 
then Secretary of War, it would show a reason for Junius's 
being so bitter in his denunciation of Lord Barrington, which 
Taylor attempts to show in his assertion that Francis was 
Junius. In many other instances, Mr. Taylor strains the 
facts, in every way, to carry his point. 

On page 398 Mr. Taylor says that the King, Lord North 
and Lord Grenville were made acquainted with the real 
name of Junius in 1772. He contends that they gave Fran- 
cis the appointment as Commissioner to India, at a salary of 
10,000 pounds per annum, as a bribe to keep him from writ- 
ing any more letters against them, under the name of Junius. 
Vide pp. 399 and 400; and that he was recommended by 
Lord Barrington for the position. Now if Lord Barrington 
knew that Francis was Junius, he must have been of a very 
forgiving nature to have given this vicious writer the re- 
commendation, who had so bitterly denounced him under 
the name of Junius. This is all a surmise on the part of 
Mr. Taylor, to carry his point, even though it reflected so 
cruelly on the character of Mr. Francis. He was born and 



PART II 81 

bred a gentleman, and no one has cast the least reflection 
on his character, except Mr. Taylor and the degenerate 
grandson of Sir Philip Francis, H. R. Francis, who wrote 
a book in 1894 called "Junius Revealed," and therein main- 
tained that his grandfather, Sir Philip Francis, had taken 
and received the commission to India, as a secret bribe by the 
English Government. 

I am fully aware that it is incumbent upon me to en- 
tirely eliminate Mr. Francis from the contest before I intro- 
duce the person whom I claim to be the undoubted author 
of the Letters; therefore, although my readers may conclude 
that I am elaborating the proof to the above end, I feel that 
I must make good my assertion that Francis did not and 
could not have written the Letters; and also, I must answer 
the arguments of Mr. Taylor and H. R. Francis. 

One of the principal arguments of Henry R. Francis in 
his "Junius Revealed," in favor of the theory that his grand- 
father was the author of the Letters, was, that Sir Philip 
was bribed to quit writing as Junius, by being appointed as 
one of the Commissioners to India. On page 53 he says: 
"In which approved principle, then, of building the bridge 
of gold, after surprising the enemy, they [the King and Min- 
isters] would seek at once to effectually silence the hostile 
mouth-piece, and to conciliate Junius's most influential 
well wishers." He further says: "My belief is that its 
two-fold object was attained by Francis's last letter from the 
War Office, and was accomplished by a promise, probably 
from Lord North, Prime Minister, of a good appointment 
abroad, after the shortest interval that might suffice to 
avert the immediate suspicion of a bargain; Francis on his 
part engaging to drop the role of masked pamphleteer, but 
never to remove the mask he had worn as Junius, but all 
the parties had the gravest reasons for keeping it dark." 
The foregoing is the belief of this degenerate grandson, who 
besmirched the fair name of his dead grandfather to get a 
little imaginary glory for himself and others of the descend- 
ants of Sir Philip Francis. "O shame, where is thy blush!" 



82 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

The other arguments which he uses are verj^ similar to 
those used by Mr. Taylor — bare assertions and surmises, 
wholly unsupported by any facts. Sir Philip Francis said: 
"I always suspected Burke of being the author of The Let- 
ters." Vide p. 40 of "Junius Revealed." Mr. Woodfall, the 
publisher of the Junius Letters, said: "To my certain knowl- 
edge, Francis is not Junius." See p. 25, Vol. I of "The 
Francis Letters." In a letter dated March 10th, 1770, which 
was written by Alexander Macrabie, from Philadelphia, to 
Francis, who was his brother-in-law, he said: "Junius is the 
Mars of malcontents." .... "His letter to the King 
is past all endurance as well as all compare. Who the devil 
can he be?" He further says: "I have read all that cor- 
respondence [between Sir William Draper and Junius] and 
never before met with such keen cutting satire." Vide p. 
112, Vol. I, "The Francis Letters." In a letter dated Lon- 
don, June 12, 1770, Sir Philip Francis replies as follows to 
Macrabie 's letter: "Junius is not known, which is as curious 
perhaps, as any of his writings. I have always suspected 
Burke, but whoever he is, it is impossible he can ever dis- 
cover himself. The offense he has given to his Majesty 
and the Duke of Grafton, is more than any private man can 
support, he would soon be crushed." Vide p. 243, Vol. I of 
"Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis." Can anything be stronger 
to show that Francis was not Junius? 

On page 68 of his book, Mr. Taylor asserts, that Fran- 
cis and Lord Barrington had a "falling out between them" 
and that Lord Barrington expelled him from the War Office, 
and that D 'Oyle was expelled from the same office. 

In January 1772, Mr. Francis writes to his cousin, Maj- 
or Baggs as follows: "You will have heard that Mr. D'Oyle 
has resigned his employment. He did it while I was at 
Bath. Immediately upon my return, my Lord Barrington 
was so good as to make me an offer [of D 'Oyle's place, as 
Deputy Secretary of War], with many obliging and friendly 
expressions. I had solid reasons for declining the offer." 
Vide p. 133, Vol. I of the "Francis Letters." On March 
20th, 1772, Francis wrote Major Baggs another letter, as 



PART II 83 

follows: "At the end of this quarter, I leave the War Ofifice. 
It is my own act. Be not alarmed for me, everything is 
secure and as it should be." p. 134. Francis says, on June 
4, 1772, "While he and his brother-in-law, Macrabie, who 
had then returned from America, were walking in the park, 
they met a gentleman who informed them that John ChoU- 
well, one of the intended Commissioners to India, had declined 
the nomination. It was the King's birthday and Lord Bar- 
rington had gone to court. I saw him next morning; as soon 
as I had expressed my views to him, he wrote the hand- 
somest, strongest letter imaginable in my favor to Lord 
North, for the position. Other interests contributed, but I 
owe my success to Lord Barrington." Vide p. 148, Vol. I 
of the "Francis Letters." 

From these letters it does not look like Francis was 
expelled from the War Office and that there was any "falling 
out" between Francis and Lord Barrington, as stated by Mr. 
Taylor, and, on which he founds his main arguments in his 
book. See page 6. This is another instance where Mr. 
Taylor has perverted the truth. 

In connection with this branch of my subject, I will 
make a few other references to Junius, which go to prove 
that Francis was not Junius. They all refer to the very 
severe strictures of Junius on the intimate friends of Mr. 
Francis. The above is in relation to the "Veteran Letter," 
vide p. 405, Vol. II of Bohn's Standard Library Woodfall's 
Junius, which letter is generally conceded to have been writ- 
ten by Junius, but Mr. Taylor states it was written by Sir 
Philip Francis as Junius. I think I can convince my readers 
that he is utterly mistaken. This letter is very abusive of 
Francis's friend and benefactor. Lord Barrington, and was 
written to the printer of the "Public Advertiser," on the 23rd 
day of March, 1772, by Junius commencing as follows: "I 
desire that you will inform the public that the worthy Lord 
Barrington, not contented with having driven Mr. D'Oyle 
out of the War Office, has at last contrived to expel Mr. 
Francis. I think the public have a right to call on Mr. 
D'Oyle and Mr. Francis to declare their reasons for quitting 



84 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

the War Ofifice. Men of their unblemished characters do 
not resign lucrative employments without some sufficient 
reason. When the public loses the services of two able and 
honest servants, it is but reasonable that the wretch who 
drives such men out of public office, be compelled to give 
some account of himself and his proceedings." 

(Signed) "Veteran." 

Mr. Taylor says that he based his discovery of Junius 
on the "Veteran Letter." His idea being, that inasmuch as 
the letter was very hostile toward Lord Barrington, that 
Francis must have written it. I ask my readers if it is not 
preposterous to think that Mr. Francis wrote the "Veteran" 
Letter? In the first place, Mr. Taylor says that D'Oyle 
and Francis were expelled and driven out of the War Office. 
Mr. Francis said they both voluntarily resigned, in order to 
get better positions, in which they succeeded. 

It will be observed that the writer of the "Veteran" 
Letter uses the personal pronoun "I," in the first person, all 
the way through the letter, which reads as follows: "7 de- 
sire that you will inform the public," etc., etc. 

Now if Francis was the author of this letter, he was call- 
ing on himself to declare the reason for quitting the War 
Office, and inordinately praising himself as a man of "un- 
blemished character" and also "an able and honest servant 
of the government," which appear in the latter parts of the 
letter, and make it inconsistent with the idea that Francis 
wrote it. If Mr. Francis, as Junius, wrote the letter, as 
claimed by Mr. Taylor, was it not very inelegant in him to 
bestow such fulsome praise on himself? 

The fact is, as soon as Junius heard that D'Oyle and 
Francis had quit the War Office, he immediately informed 
the "Public Advertiser" that they had been expelled. Per- 
haps he was not acquainted with the facts, and probably his 
version of it, that they were expelled, suited his purpose best, 
in order to bring odium and criticism on Lord Barrington, 



PART II 86 

because he was Secretary of War in the Grafton Ministry, 
which he (Junius) was trying in every way to break up, as 
before stated. 

It is well known that Lord Barrington was a wily 
Scotchman, and was, by no means, an exemplary member 
of the King's Ministry. He moved the expulsion of the cele- 
brated John Wilkes from Parliament, which was seconded 
by one Rigby, and carried; and one Luttrell was put in his 
place, whom Wilkes had defeated by a very large majority 
in the Middlesex election. These and many other reasons 
conspired to make Junius despise him; and write those ma- 
lignant letters against him. 

In his "Private Letters" to Mr. Woodfall, No. LX, page 
59, Vol. II of Bohn's Standard Library, Junius says: "Next 
to the Duke of Grafton, I verily believe that the blackest 
heart of the Kingdom belongs to Lord Barrington." 

In his letter No. LI I to Mr. H. S. Woodfall, he says: 
"Having nothing better to do, I propose to entertain myself 
and the public with torturing that * * * (damned) Bar- 
rington." A few days later in Letter CVII, he writes as 
follows to Lord Barrington: "When the bloody Barrington, 
that silken, fawning courtier at St. James — that stern and 
insolent Minister at the War Office, is pointed out to uni- 
versal contempt and detestation, you smile indeed, but the 
last agonies of the hysteric passions are painted on your 
countenance; your cheek betrays what passes within you, 
and your whole form is in convulsions. The very name of Bar- 
rington implies everything that is mean, cruel, false and con- 
temptible." 

Is it reasonable to suppose that Francis, as Junius, should 
have so maligned the character of his best friend, who had 
treated him so very kindly for many years? I cannot be- 
lieve that he could have been so lost to every emotion of 
gratitude, and every instinct of an honorable man. 

Furthermore, if Francis were Junius, he would not have 
so abused some of his other friends, to-wit: John Calcraft, 
who remembered him in his will, and left him 1000 pounds, 
and his wife an annuity of 250 pounds during her lifetime. 



86 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

This was before he received the commission to India, 
and while he was a poor man. Mr. Wilbor Ellis, who was 
formerly Secretary of War, gave him his first position in the 
War Office, as shown by his letters. David Garrick, the 
famous comedian, and Sir William Draper, both of whom 
were intimate friends of Mr. Francis and his father, were 
also victims of Junius. 

If Francis were Junius, he also abused Lord North, 
Prime Minister, who gave him his appointment as Commis- 
sioner to India. On page 36 of Woodfall's Junius, in Bohn's 
Standard Library, Vol. II, among other things, he says: 
"My Lord, I never address your Lordship, but I feel the 
utmost horror and indignation, for I consider you as a man 
totally regardless of your honour and the welfare of your 
country. Every principle of conscience, you have, long ago, 
been hardy enough to discard. There has not been an ac- 
tion in the last two years of your life, but what, separately, 
deserves imprisonment. The time may come, and remem- 
ber, my Lord, there is a very short period between a Minis- 
ter's imprisonment and his grave." See also Letter XLVIII, 
page 246, Vol. II wherein Junius handles Lord North, as 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, pretty roughly. 

Mr. E. H. Barker, a most astute critic and profound 
reasoner, in his book of 500 pages, which is devoted almost 
entirely to proving that Sir Philip was not Junius, and in 
which he has succeeded, says on pages 31 and 32: "Sir 
Philip is, in his public character, allowed by all impartial 
men to have been a man of the most unblemished moral in- 
tegrity and of the purest political principles. Now to sup- 
pose him to have been the author of Junius, is, in fact, to 
proclaim him a villain of a vulgar cast; for he must be 
henceforth regarded by us as a base ingrate to his great 
benefactor, patron and friend, the Earl of Chatham, without 
any assigned or assignable cause. It is to proclaim Sir 
Philip a hypocrite of the blackest dye, professing in his 
Parliamentary speeches and avowed productions to have ever 
felt the strongest attachment to the person, and the highest 
veneration for the character of Lord Chatham, when he had 



PART II 87 

in truth, commenced his Uterary and political career by a 
series of virulent and anonymous libels on him. It is to 
proclaim Sir Philip to have been an idiot of the grossest 
stupidity, for it would make him, though a mere clerk in the 
"War Office, risk his official situation and even personal exist- 
ence, by calumniating the Ministry, whose servant he was, 
aad without any apparent motive of private pique. It is to 
pioclaim Sir Philip to have acted on principles contrary to 
the ordinary principles of human nature; for men do not 
desert and libel their benefactor, patron and friend, nor do 
they act in direct opposition to their own private interests, 
without some powerful motive, which has not been shown 
ii the case of Sir Philip Francis, at the date of the earliest 
known production of Junius, viz: April 28th, 1767." 

On page 171 of Mr. E. H. Barker's very researchful 
book, he further says: "After the patronage which Sir 
Philip Francis had in early life experienced from Lord Chat- 
ham and Lord Mendip, and after the severity with which 
they have been treated by Junius, any attempt to identify 
Sir Philip and Junius, if successful, would be only to pro- 
cure for Sir Philip literary reputation by the total sacrifice 
of public and private character; — To proverbialize his name, 
memorialise his crimes, and eternise his infamy." 

"Other arguments on this branch of the question will 
occupy a second letter," said Mr. Barker. 

What motive could Francis have had for traducing his 
best friends and benefactors? I cannot think of any. Every 
human action is prompted by a motive; but Junius did have 
a positive motive for abusing every one of the above named 
individuals, because they were all connected with the Eng- 
lish Government, which he was attempting to destroy; except 
Garrick, and Junius conceived that he was trying to discover 
his identity, which aroused his anger. 

Had the King, Lord North and Grenville known that 
Francis was really Junius, they never would have compromised 
by giving him the commission to India, but would have had 
him arrested, cast into prison, tried and punished to the full 



88 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

extent of the law. Cotild they, as honest Government offi- 
cials, have done otherwise, after the EngUsh Government had 
spent thousands of pounds for the arrest of the wicked Juni- 
us? On page 401, Mr. Taylor tries to conciHate Mr. Fran- 
cis, after asserting that Francis was the author of the Let- 
ters. He says: "Sir Philip Francis must be content to 
share the lot of all those who have causam celehritatis ." Taj- 
lor further remarks: "It is said that Mr. Francis is angry 
at the charge — that would be folly." Mr. Taylor must ha7e 
had the lowest standard of morals and truth, for as I ha/e 
already stated. Sir Philip Francis did all he could to dis- 
courage Mr. Taylor in writing his book, and for the very 
best reasons and motives. Vide pp. 7 and 9. In the first 
place, he was a truthful man. He did not wish to claim the 
distinguished honor of writing the Letters, when he knew he 
was not the author. He was perfectly aware that if the 
King and the Ministry ever were convinced that he was 
Junius, they would have arrested him and proceeded against 
him criminally. 

Besides, he well knew that if they even suspected him 
of being Junius, he could never hope to get a promotion 
from that source. The fact is, that his Hfe-long friend, 
Lord Barrington, Secretary of War, whom Francis had served 
so long, cordially recommended him to Lord North for the 
appointment as one of the Commissioners to India, because 
he had full capacity, by his long experience in the War Office ; 
therefore. Lord North gave him the appointment and it 
was confirmed by the King. He was not appointed until 
June, 1773, under the Act then recently passed by ParHa- 
ment, which is more than a year and four months after 
Junius wrote his last poHtical letter; but Mr. Taylor says 
that the appointment was made in June, 1772, which was 
more than a year previous to the passage of the Act author- 
izing the appointment of the Commissioners to India; but 
he wanted it to appear that Junius was still writing his 
cruel letters against the Eang, the Ministry and ParHament, 
when in fact, he had quit writing a year and four months 



PART II 89 

earlier. This is another perversion of the truth which Tay- 
lor made, in order to sustain his point. Vide p. 399. 

The reason of Mr. Taylor's persistence in writing his 
book, notwithstanding Mr. Francis endeavored to dissuade 
him from it, was this: He had spent about three years 
getting up his data and writing the book. It would have 
been more mortification to him to have been forced, a second 
time, to acknowledge to the public that he had made two 
distinct mistakes in selecting the author for the Junius Letters. 

In addition to the foregoing, he would have lost all the 
emoluments which he received from the sale of his book, 
which amounted to a large sum. 

Likewise, he knew that he would enjoy considerable 
celebrity as a writer, in having made the discovery of the 
mysterious author of The Letters. All these conditions 
naturally conspired to impel him forward in the publication 
of his book. Furthermore, Junius was a native-bom Eng- 
lishman, as appears through all of his letters, and Francis 
was an Irishman, bom in Dublin. On page 176 of his book, 
Mr. Barker says: ''It is proved by incontrovertible evidence 
that Junius was an Englishman." Francis's father was a 
clergyman of the Established Church of England. The 
family removed from Dublin to London when Sir Philip was 
ten years old. Soon after their arrival. Dr. Francis was 
appointed chaplain to Lord Holland, chief paymaster in the 
King's army; and thereafter, the associates of young Francis 
were aristocrats, among whom he was reared, and naturally 
became imbued with their ideas and their political affinities. 

As his father was a poor man. Sir Philip was given a 
"small clerkship" in the Secretary of State's office when 
about fifteen years old, to help make a living for the family, 
and later on received the appointment to a clerkship in the 
War Office by Lord Barrington, which position he held about 
ten years, and he must have been brought up in the prin- 
ciples of royalty. These appointments took him from school 
and limited his education. 

He was married at the age of twenty-one to a Miss 
Elizabeth Macrabie, two or three years his senior, whose 



90 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

father was in reduced circumstances. It appears the father 
of each of them was opposed to the alliance, on account of 
their financial conditions, but the young couple did not heed 
their parental advice, and were married. In a few years, 
he was the father of five daughters and one son, and his 
wife a confirmed invalid. He had to contribute to the sup- 
port of his invalid father, and also to his wife's father and 
mother, which kept him continually in financial straits. 

I have taken these facts from the history of his life, 
which show that he could not have been able to attend to 
the duties of his office, and to have taken so much of his 
time in getting up the information for the finished composi- 
tion of the Junius Letters; to have carried on his voluminous 
correspondence with Mr. Woodfall, Mr. Wilkes, Sir William 
Draper and many others, and at the same time, though very 
poor, refusing to accept a dollar for any of his laborious 
writings, as was the custom of Junius. On the contrary, 
Junius was evidently in easy financial circumstances, as 
stated in his letters, and positively refused to accept any 
compensation for any of his writings from his publisher, 
Mr. Woodfall. Besides, he contributed liberally towards the 
expenses of defending a very malignant prosecution which 
the Government instituted against Mr. Woodfall for the 
publication of some of the Junius Letters. It is a well-known 
fact that Francis did not have the mental ability and the 
education to write The Junius Letters, at the early age of 
about twenty-seven years, when they were first commenced, 
under the name of "Lucius." Mr. Barker, on page 121 
says: "Now, then, I ask Mr. Taylor whether he supposes 
that an inferior clerk in the War Office, which Mr. T. him- 
self confesses to have required from its officers 'constant 
attendance,' could, at the age of twenty-seven (when the 
earliest production of Junius appeared), have found leisure, 
first to learn the profession of authorship, secondly to prac- 
tice it, thirdly to commence the practice with writing, for a 
regular series of years, papers perfect in their style of compo- 
sition? The fact is not at all credible; so opposed to com- 
mon sense and common experience, that, if it had actually 



FAC- SIMILES ©jF THE BlAHBWlRI'riFG ©¥ JUNIUS. 

J K.'-iut^o Vo-t^ KjlaJ-< (^.iJLikyi^ (y/'-U- rKc l\..c,^ JLam. 
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PART II 91 

occurred, it must be regarded as miraculous, and the testi- 
mony even of an ocular witness could not easily work its 
way to our belief." 

If the reader will take the pains, which I have taken, 
to compare any of the Junius Letters with anything which 
Francis wrote about the same time, I think he will coincide 
with me in my opinion that there is no similarity whatever 
between them in style. 

The letters written by Francis are generally light and 
frivolous without much force or beauty, as will be seen in 
Vol. I of the Francis Letters, edited by Beta Francis, his 
granddaughter, and Eliza Karey, in which many words are 
misspelled, and ntimerous capital letters are placed where 
they do not belong. This is to be expected of one who had 
such a limited education. 

On the contrary, all the letters written by Junius are 
grave, dignified, logical, very forceful, beautifully and flu- 
ently expressed; his words are all correctly spelled; his capi- 
tals are in their proper places: all of which shows that they 
are the work of a scholar and a great genius. Several liter- 
ary critics and friends of Mr. Francis say that if he did not 
write the Junius Letters, then he left nothing of a literary 
character to posterity. See Vol. I, page 6 of the "Memoirs 
of Francis." 

I will now take up the question of human nature, which 
I think is very pertinent in this investigation. Htiman na- 
ture is now, and always has been, the same all over the 
world, and among all people. Gratitude is a living principle 
in every heart, unless a person is a moral pervert, which 
rarely happens. It is found in the breast of the savage, and 
even among our domestic animals. If a nice morsel is given 
to our dog, he looks up into the face of the giver, with a 
kind expression, which indicates his gratitude. Therefore, 
whenever a gratuitous act of kindness is extended from one 
person to another, the recipient always feels an instinctive 
emotion of gratitude in his heart. 

Shakespeare, the great expositor of human nature, puts 
into the mouth of the venerable King Lear the following 



92 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

words: "Ingratitude, thou marble hearted fiend, how sharp- 
er than a serpent's tooth to have a thankless child." 

I have already said that Sir Philip Francis was bom of 
excellent parentage, and was reared among gentlemen and 
as a gentleman. He was a man of culture and refinement, 
and would not have stooped to a dastardly act of ingratitude. 
No one has ever said less of him. Therefore, can we even 
suspect that he was lacking in the noble attribute of un- 
selfish gratitude to his generous benefactors? As I have 
stated above, I can not believe it. It is unreasonable. It 
is contrary to all the laws of human nature. 

If Francis were Junius, as contended for by Mr. Taylor, 
he was a moral pervert indeed. He did not have a spark 
of gratitude in his nature, which I will proceed to demon- 
strate b}'- other facts recorded in history. 

Now if Francis were Junius, he returns the basest in- 
gratitude to others of his friends, for the many kindnesses 
which they had shown him. See p. 288, Vol. I, in Letter 38, 
Woodfall's Junius, where Junius, in commenting on some 
motion made by Mr. Ellis before Parliament, sa^^-s: "The 
little dignity of Mr. Ellis has been committed. The mine 
was sunk; combustibles were provided, and Welbore Ellis, 
the Guy Faux of the fable, waited only for the signal of 
command. All of a sudden the country gentlemen [members 
of Parliament] discover how grossl}'- they have been deceived; 
the Minister's heart fails him, the grand plot is defeated in 
a moment, and poor Mr. Ellis and his motion taken into 
custody Whether he makes or suppresses a mo- 
tion, he is equally sure of disgrace." Junius commenting on 
another motion to impeach the Mayor and Sheriff of London, 
says: "Little manikin Ellis, told the King that if the busi- 
ness were left to his management, he would engage to do 
wonders, and it was thought odd, that a motion of so much 
importance should be intrusted to the most contemptible 
little piece of machinery in the whole kingdom," etc. Mr. 
Ellis gave Francis a clerkship in the office of Secretary of 
State, when he was a boy. 



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PART II 93 

Mr. C. F. Karey, in speaking of the argument used by 
the anti-Francis critics said, that Francis, if Junius, was 
very ungrateful to some of his best friends and benefactors. 
He says in Vol. I, page 22 of the Francis Letters: "This is 
an argument of considerable weight; of the fact of this dis- 
crepancy, there can be no doubt. It was especially towards 
Lord Barrington and towards Calcraft, both personal friends 
and benefactors of Francis; and in a degree hardly less 
towards Sir William Draper, that Francis, if Francis was 
Junius, showed himself strangely false, if not vindictive." 
This is a strong admission by Mr. Karey, who was a warm 
friend and advocate of Francis. 

The affairs in India were in a very bad condition; Lord 
Clive had been governor there for a long time, and had rob- 
bed and oppressed those people outrageously. He had re- 
cently been recalled, so that the Government was arranging 
to create a commission of five members to govern that un- 
fortunate country; Mr. Francis was perfectly aware of it, 
and was looking to a position on the commission, as appears 
from what he says in one of his letters above referred to. 

Shortly thereafter. Parliament did enact a law creating 
the Commission, and, as above stated, his friend and former 
benefactor. Lord Barrington, recommended him to Lord 
North for one of the Commissioners, with Warren Hastings 
as Governor General; John Clavery, George Monson, and 
Richard Barswell, were the other Commissioners, to which 
Francis was added as the fourth, by Lord North. Neverthe- 
less, Mr. Taylor would have us believe that Francis, as 
Junius, was all the while a secret enemy of, and vile traitor 
to, Lord Barrington and Lord North, while he was writing 
those very severe letters, under the name of "Junius," against 
these benefactors, as shown in the "Veteran" letter, and 
others of the Junius Letters, herein above referred to. 

I hope I will not weary my readers by stating some re- 
marks, which Francis, as Junius, made about Mr. Calcraft, 
as insisted upon by Mr. Taylor. In letter LIX of Woodf all's 
Junius, Vol. I, page 416, he says: "Even the silent vote 
of Mr. Calcraft is worth reckoning in a division. What 



94 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

though he riots in the plunder of the army, and has only 
determined to be a patriot when he can not be a peer. Let 
us profit by the assistance of such men while they are with 
us, and place them, if it is possible, in the post of danger, 
to prevent desertion." Mr. Calcraft had been an army 
agent, and had become rich. 

Next, I will take up David Garrick, the great actor, 
who was a warm personal friend of the family, to whom 
Doctor Francis dedicated the play of "Eugenia," which was 
composed by the Doctor for the stage. Now, if Francis 
were Junius, he wrote a very unnatural letter to Garrick. 
Vide Letter XLI, in the Private Letters of Junius to Wood- 
fall, Vol. II, page 41, Woodfall's Junius, a fac-simile of 
which I will insert in this book. 

I beg pardon of my readers for imposing on their pa- 
tience by so greatly elaborating this branch of my subject. 

It seems that Garrick was trying to find out who Junius 
was. As I have already copied some of his letters against 
Sir William Draper, the reader is informed of what he said 
against him. When we look over the bitter letters which 
Francis, if Junius, wrote against the friends of his father, 
and his own friends, and benefactors, what must be our 
natural and rational conclusion if we should accept the the- 
ory of Mr. Taylor, that Francis was the real author of the 
Junius Letters? 

I will leave the reader to make up his own opinion on 
the subject, as I have already expressed mine. Mr. Taylor 
in his arguments that Francis was Junius, has stamped his 
memory with the blackest type of infamy, by accusing him 
of taking a bribe, as Commissioner to India. 

If the reader has the opportunity, and will examine Mr. 
Taylor's ponderous volume of four hundred pages, entitled 
"Junius Identified," he will perceive that he has devoted 
over one hundred pages to comparisons of the styles of Fran- 
cis and Junius, with a view of showing some similarity be- 
tween them, nearly all of which he has selected from the 
speeches of Francis made in the House of Commons, forty 
years after the Junius letters were written, and after his 




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PART II 95 

mind was much more mature; in which Francis actually 
copied the identical ideas of Junius, in words a little different 
in many instances, and in others he uses his very words, 
which are downright plagiarisms. Mr. Taylor is a very 
ingenious and plausible writer, and is very resourceful. His 
book shows that he appropriates every idea, surmise, con- 
jecture and rumor which he could find, devise or invent in 
his fertile imagination, in order to prove, as far as possible, 
that Francis was the author of the Junius Letters, in which 
he made a dismal failure. It may be truly said of his efforts: 
"Farturiunt monies, nascetur ridiculus mus." 

Inasmuch as Mr. John Taylor was the first one to sug- 
gest the name of Sir Philip Francis as the author of the 
Junius Letters, after the subject had lain dormant for over 
forty years, he has had a few followers who have trodden in 
his footsteps, in making up their opinions on the question; 
the most conspicuous of whom is Lord Macaulay, whose 
arguments I have carefully read and found them nothing more 
than his opinions on Mr. Taylor's book, and without a par- 
ticle of original proof to sustain them. He does not even 
say that he has investigated the subject, or given any partic- 
ular thought to it, but bases his assertions entirely on the 
suggestions which he took from Mr. Taylor's book. His com- 
ment is very brief, and, in my opinion, does Junius great 
injustice. Therefore, if I have successfully demonstrated 
that Mr. Taylor has made a complete failure in his elabor- 
ate effort to prove that Francis was Junius, which I think 
I have done, then Macaulay's opinion has nothing to sustain 
it and must fall to the ground; and I may say the same of 
any other obsequious follower of Mr. Taylor, in his book. 

Furthermore, the editors of "Memoirs of Francis," on 
page 299, Vol. I, say that "The current belief in the Wood- 
fall family has been that Francis was not Junius at all," and on 
page 293, they further say: "The eldest son of Henry Samp- 
son Woodfall communicates to Mr. Parks [one of the editors] 
the following anecdote, among others, hostile to the preten- 
sions of Francis, more than forty years since: 'I recollect 
my father returning from the Pauline dinner, saying to some 



96 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

friends, that he had met his old school fellow, Francis, then 
soon after his return from India, in 1781. A gentleman 
present, observed to my father (H. S. W.) "Then you have 
seen your old friend Junius?" on which he replied, with very 
marked emphasis: "To my certain knowledge, Francis never 
wrote a single line of Junius.' " 

This seems very strong evidence to me, as coming from 
the elder Woodfall. The editors of the Memoirs of Sir Philip 
Francis, in my opinion, are perfectly honest and fair in writ- 
ing the book, but Mr. Taylor and H. R. Francis do all in 
their power to discredit them, whenever they encounter any- 
thing which does not accord with their side of the contro- 
versy. 

Mr. Leslie Stephens, an eminent critic, in "The Annual 
Biography," Vol. IV, page 231. says: "Sir Philip Francis 
ridiculed the idea of his being the author of the letters signed 
Junius; he said: 'I have already written on that subject un- 
til I am tired. I will write no more letters, answer no more 
questions relative to it. If mankind are so obstinate as not 
to believe what I have already said, I am not fool enough 
to hiunble myself any more — I have done.' " 

From all I have been able to discover on the subject, 
Junius had no wife or family, or anyone else dependent upon 
him, as he never mentioned either, in any of his letters, 
which he most likely would have done in his Private Letters 
to Mr. Woodfall. Therefore he was able to devote all his 
time to study, accumulating facts, visiting Parliament to 
hear what was going on there, and talking with eminent per- 
sons in the Whig Party, who could post him upon the cur- 
rent political events of the day, and in this wise equipping 
himself for writing his mysterious letters. On the other hand 
Francis was married at twenty-one years of age, and in a 
few years was the father of six children, five girls and one 
boy, with an invalid wife, which must have been a great 
care and expense to him, and naturally absorbed much of 
his thought and time in looking after, and providing for 
their wants. Besides, he was a poor man, and dependent 
upon what he called a "meager salary." He frequently 



PART II 97 

complained of his constant work as clerk in the War Office. 
Therefore he could have had no time to collect the necessary 
facts and information of different kinds, which he was com- 
pelled to have in order to prepare those very finished 
political letters of Junius, besides carrying on his volimiinous 
correspondence with Mr. Woodfall, and writing numerous 
other letters, which he necessarily had to do, in reply to 
those written by others about him. Besides, Francis re- 
ceived no compensation for his letters, if he were Junius, 
which was the well-known custom of the real author of The 
Letters. The latter could afford it, because he was, at least 
in easy circumstances, as shown by his writings. Further- 
more, it appears to me that Francis could have done but 
little studying, reading, or writing at home, especially at 
night, when his family was around him. We all know that 
the silent hours at night are the best for composing and 
writing on any subject which requires time and thought. 
We may reasonably presume that Junius wrote some of his 
best letters at night, when all was quiet around him. 

In one of his letters to Mr. Alex. Macrabie, his brother- 
in-law, Vol. I, page 96 of the Francis Letters, he says: 
"Domestic news is as insipid as usual. Children bawling, 
servants fighting, my wife scolding, your mother and father 
weeping, and Betty raving mad. This is the perpetual his- 
tory of my family." His wife's mother and father lived with 
him most of the time, and ''Betty" was his wife's cousin, 
who also lived with them. 

It seems that he was in a deplorable condition! In 
another letter to Macrabie, page 105, on the subject of poli- 
tics, he says: "We have politics enough, God knows, but as 
I have not the honour to be entrusted with the secrets of 
either party, I can give you nothing but what you will see 
much more elegantly set forth in the newspapers. Truth 
is out of the question. Each party says and believes just 
what suits themselves, without decency or moderation, and 
a neutral party is detested by both. A philosopher has no 
more chance among them than a cat in hell." 



98 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

The foregoing letter and post-script are perfect fac- 
similes of the handwriting of Junius, copied from one in the 
front part of Vol. I of ''Junius by Woodfall," of Bohn's 
Standard Library, and vouched for by the author. The 
reader will perceive that the post-script is signed "C," 
which is a recognized signature of Junius, supposed to stand 
for "Candour." In the post-script he says: "I doubt wheth- 
er I shall ever have the pleasure of knowing you." This 
proves conclusively that Francis did not write the letter or 
the post-script, because it is well-known, as I have before 
said, that David Garrick, the great comedian, was an inti- 
mate friend of Dr. PhiHp Francis, the father of Sir PhiHp, 
The Doctor dedicated his play "Eugenia" to Garrick. Is 
it reasonable that Sir PhiHp Francis should have written 
such a severe letter to his father's friend? I cannot be- 
lieve it. 

The two foregoing letters of Sir Philip Francis, and an 
extract from a letter of Junius, are fac-similes of the same 
letters inserted by Mr. John Taylor in his book entitled: 
"The Identity of Junius with a Distinguished Living Char- 
acter Established," and are therefore vouched for by Mr. 
Taylor, as correct copies of the originals. He reproduced 
them in his book to prove the similarity between them, in 
the handwriting, style, etc., of Francis and Junius. I insert 
fac-similes of them in my book to prove the entire dissim- 
ilarity between them. I can see no similarity whatever be- 
tween them in handwriting, style or otherwise. The reader 
can judge for himself. Observe the difference in the double 
s's of the Francis and Junius letters and the numerous 
capitals in the wrong places in the Francis Letters. 

It appears that Francis was neutral in politics, and was 
trusted by neither party. His letters bordered on silliness, 
and were written by a man of ordinary ability. Remember 
that they were written about the time Junius was writing 
his letters, as one of them was a comment upon one of the 
Junius Letters. 

In order to do ample justice to my subject, I feel that 
I must refute all the theories assumed by Mr. Taylor, H. R. 



PART 11 99 

Francis and their followers, in their attempts to prove that 
Sir Philip Francis was the author of the Junius Letters, al- 
though in so doing, I may weary my readers. However, I 
will be as brief as possible. As Mr. Taylor and H. R. Fran- 
cis dwell particularly on the similarity of the handwritings 
of Junius and Sir Philip Francis, I will here adduce further 
and other proofs to show that their handwritings were not 
similar, but, on the contrary, were totally dissimilar. 

Sir Harry Nicholas, a ripe scholar and eminent critic, 
in his "Analysis of Junius and his Works," says, on the 
subject of handwritings: "It is as impossible for a person 
to disguise his handwriting, in an effectual manner, as to 
change his features, or his voice, unless he be a professed 
mimic, or ventriloquist." 

Let me ask the reader to try to disguise his handwriting 
for only an hour, and he will, I believe, find out that it is 
almost impossible to give uniformity to the size and angles 
of his letters, and make the same pressure on his pen in 
shading his letters all alike. He will soon discover what a 
strain on his mind it will prove, and on the muscles of his 
hand, always to be on the alert in order that he may not 
fall back to his natural handwriting. If this be so for one 
hour's writing, what would it have been to Junius in carry- 
ing on his very large correspondence of four or five years 
with Mr. Woodfall, besides all his other writings? It was 
simply impossible for him to have disguised his handwriting 
all that time. // the reader will examine the copies of the 
writings of these two persons, which I have inserted herein, 
I believe he will soon be convinced that there is not the 
least similiarity between them; that of Francis, who had 
been a clerk in the War Office for about twelve years, is a 
bold, round, clerical hand, of the ordinary size generally in 
use on public records; while that of Junius was a very small 
hand, with the letters very closely written, and very angular 
in shape, with many more letters to the line, besides, they 
are perpendicular; nor is there any shading on them, which 
is shown in Francis's writing. The reason for his writing 
such a small and close hand, no doubt, was, that he could 



100 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

write so much more rapidly, and could get so much more on 
a page, which was a great saving of his time and his paper. 
I do not know how it is with others, who have a great deal 
of writing to do, but I find that I have fallen into the same 
habit of writing a very small and a very close hand, although 
my natural hand is rather large and not closely written. 
A relative said to me a few days ago, that she never saw 
any one who could put so much on a page. 

Those theorists who advocate the Francis side of the 
question, and especially Mr. Taylor, who first '^discovered'' 
Francis, about forty years after the Letters were written, 
were then driven to some other alternative to get around this 
obstacle, which confronted them, and therefore asserted the 
novel theory that all of Junius's Letters were written in a dis- 
guised hand, without giving any reason why he should have 
done so. He was wholly unknown, therefpre how could any 
one possibly know what kind of a hand he wrote? Then 
why should he have put himself to all the extra trouble and 
inconvenience of disguising his hand, during a period of 
four or five years, even if it were possible for him to have 
done so? Mr. Fraser Rae, an eminent writer on the subject, 
says: "Mr. George Woodfall, and a writing master of note, by 
the name of Tomkins, in the City of London, asserted that 
Junius's handwriting was not feigned." See "Athenaenum." 

After Mr. Taylor realized that his theories, first as to 
the similarity of the handwritings of Junius and Francis, and 
second, that Junius disguised his handwriting, could not be 
sustained, he conceived the idea that Junius had all his 
letters copied by some one. This is the weakest invention 
of them all. In the first place, the question arises. Why 
should he have had his letters copied? No one knew who 
he was, therefore, it mattered not whether his letters were 
copied, or in his own handwriting. A little reflection will 
convince anyone that Junius had a very strong reason for 
not having them copied, as it would have led, almost cer- 
tainly, to his detection. Could he possibly have foimd a 
person whom he coiild trust with the secret? It would have 
been an easy thing for the copyist to have gotten quite a 



PART II 101 

little fortune from the Government, by disclosing the name 
of Junius, and Junius would have never known of the treach- 
ery of the confidante. The King and all his minions were 
on the alert to discover this mysterious writer, and spared 
no expense in trjdng to find him; and had they succeeded, it 
would have cost him his liberty, and possibly his life. Then 
why should he have taken such a risk for nothing? The 
idea is preposterous. In a letter to Mr. Woodfall, herein 
before referred to, he says: "I should not survive a dis- 
covery three days, or, if I did, they would attaint me by 
bill." 

The Francis Letters were compiled by Beta Francis, a 
granddaughter of Sir Philip Francis, and Eliza Karey, in 
two large volumes, both of which I have carefully read, in 
order to see if Francis had left any writings to show that 
he was the author of the Letters; but I discovered nothing 
whatever which even intimated that he had any connection 
with them. They are singularly free from anything touching 
the subject. The editors of the Francis Letters induced a 
Mr. C. F. Karey, possibly the husband of Eliza Karey, to 
write an essay on the subject of the authorship of the Junius 
Letters, which they inserted in front of the first volume, to 
which I invite the attention of the reader. On pages 22, 24, 
25 and 26, he tries to prove by assertions and arguments 
merely, with no facts, that Francis was Junius. I have 
carefully read the whole essay of thirty-two pages. He did 
not seem at all familiar with the political ideas of Francis, 
his associations, handwriting, etc. I have no doubt that he 
did his utmost on behalf of Francis, but, in my opinion, 
"he failed to make out his case," as lawyers would say. 

It is beyond the scope of this volimie to include many 
letters of Francis, which go to show that he always sided 
with the Royalists in every contention with the American 
Colonies; I will refer my readers to some of them, vide 
Vol. I, pp. 72, 75, 96, 103, 106, 112, up to p. 148, but I will 
quote from one letter to his friend Mr. Allen, on the subject 
of taxing the Colonies, in any and every manner the Eng- 
lish Government thought proper; in which doctrine, Francis 



102 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

coincided with them. It is well known that Junius, even in 
his first political letter, took exactly the opposite ground, 
and was always the staunch friend of the Americans. 

Francis, in writing to his friend Allen in regard to a 
question which he says ever agitated the English Parliament, 
says that they had a right to tax the American Colonies 
in any way they chose. In Vol. I of Francis's Letters, page 
72, he says: "Since Mr. Pitt thought fit to declare himself 
so strongly in favour of the Claims of the Americans: It is 
true that his opinion and manner of declaring it, were uni- 
versally condemned by every Englishman above the rank of 
a Blacksmith Yesterday the point was sol- 
emnly argued by both Houses The Debate lay 

between the two great pillars of the law. Lords Chief Justice 

Camden and Mansfield The Debate took its 

rise from a motion made by the Duke of Grafton as follows: 
'That the King's Majesty, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons of 
Great Britain in Parliament assembled, had, hath, and of 
right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws 
and statutes of sufficient tone and validity to bind the Colo- 
nies and people of America subjects to the Crown of Great 
Britain, in all cases whatsoever.' .... Lord Camden 

opposed the motion When Lord Mansfield had 

made his reply, it was so full, so learned, so logical, and in 
every respect so true, that not an atom of doubt remained 
in the breasts of his hearers." 

Furthermore, I will call attention to the bad spelling 
of Francis, vide Vol. I, pp. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of "The 
Francis Letters." His spelling was very inaccurate, to-wit: 
"Ally" for alley, "Stile" for style, "Compleat" for complete, 
"Risque" for risk, "Encrease" for increase, "Untill" for un- 
til, "pacquet" for packet, and most words ending in "1," he 
used "11," as "wrongful!," shameful!, " etc., besides numer- 
ous others. He used a great many capital letters in the 
middle of his sentences, vide the same references as above, 
and pages 56 to 66. This goes to show that he was not well 
educated. The fact is, that he did not have the opportunity, 



PART II 103 

as he was taken from school when about fifteen years old, to 
assist his father in supporting the family. 

On the contrary, Junius spelled very correctly, and his 
capitals were all in their proper places, which show that he 
was a man of good education. H. R. Francis relies on an- 
other theory to prove that Sir Philip Francis was Junius. 
It appears that a cousin of Sir Philip, by the name of Tilgh- 
man, was very much in love with a Miss Giles, and requested 
Sir Philip to assist in his suit. He wrote and dedicated some 
very poor verses of poetry to the young lady, which were 
copied by Tilghman, and sent to her in his own name, which 
can be seen on page 82 of ''Junius Revealed," by H. R. 
Francis. On the envelope in which he sent them, were writ- 
ten words in a different handwriting, which is unexplained 
and which H. R. Francis insists were in the handwriting of 
Junius. 

I will refer the reader to pages 83 and 84 in "Junius 
Revealed" for a comparison of the handwriting, if he has 
the opportunity of doing so, as I have carefully done. I be- 
lieve he will coincide with me in the opinion that it is a 
very poor counterfeit of the handwriting of Junius. This 
affair, in my opinion, was "trumped up" by the author of 
"Junius Revealed," as no reference to the Giles episode is 
made in Mr. Taylor's book, nor is it even referred to in the 
"Memoirs of Francis." The authors of both those books 
would have commented upon it, if they could have, in any 
way, conceived that there was the least merit in it. In fact, 
H. R. Francis bitterly complains that the editors of the 
"Memoirs of Francis" did not insert in their work a written 
statement which he furnished them about the poetry sent 
to Miss Giles, of which they took no notice. See page 9 of 
"Junius Revealed." 

Another argument used by Mr. Taylor on his subject, 
was that Junius said in one of his letters: "I wish Lord 
Holland may acquit himself with honour." In order that the 
reader may comprehend the above quotation, I will explain 
it. Lord Holland was the Right Honorable Henry Fox, and 
was Paymaster General of the King's Army. He appears to 



104 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

have been delinquent in his accounts with the Government, in 
a large sum, and was being pressed for a settlement. This is 
what Junius refers to above. Lord Holland was the father 
of the celebrated orator and statesman, Charles James Fox, 
who was somewhat in unison with Junius in his political 
views; and no doubt, he wanted to make a friend of him, in 
his contest against the Grafton Ministry, in preference to 
making him his enemy by criticising his father. Lord Holland, 
who was then in trouble with the Government. Besides, at 
that time it had not been proven that he was a defaulter to 
the Government, as he insisted that the reason why he was 
behind in his settlement, was that he had been unable to 
get returns from his sub-paymasters, many of whom were 
a great distance from London. Junius may have felt that 
it would hardly be fair to openly criticise him under the 
circumstances. Besides, when Junius made a charge, he al- 
ways had the facts to sustain him. But, Mr. Taylor says 
that the reason why Junius said: ""I wish Lord Holland 
may acquit himself with honour," was that Francis, whom 
he now conceives to be Junius, had received a "little clerk- 
ship" when a boy, in the office of Secretary of State, through 
the influence of Lord Holland; and that he and Dr. Francis 
were friends. It strikes me that this obligation of gratitude 
to Lord Holland, after the lapse of so many years, amounted 
to very little, when we come to consider how very ungrateful 
he was to all his father's friends, and to his own benefactors; 
that is, if Francis were Junius, as contended for by Mr. 
Taylor. 

Let us now consider who would most probably have 
known something of the secret, if Francis had been the au- 
thor of the Letters. His father would certainly have had 
some inkling of it. The editor of "Junius by Woodfall" in 
Vol. n, p. 59 says: "That he states it on the best authority , 
that Dr. Francis, the father of Sir Philip, was entirely un- 
connected with the writings of Junius, and he was as much 
in the dark respecting the author, as any reader of the 'Pub- 
lic Advertiser.' " He further says: "This information has 
been kindly communicated to me by the grandson of Sir 



PART II 105 

Philip Francis, upon the authority of a letter of Dr. Francis 
in his possession." Dr. Francis was a very literary man, 
and a fine writer, and could have been of great assistance to 
Sir Philip in writing the Letters, had he been the author. 
Park and Merivale, who were the editors of the "Memoirs 
of Sir Philip Francis," on pages 11 and 12 say: "Late 
in life, at seventy-five. Sir Philip married a second wife, an 
old maid, who survived him many years. She was an old 
acquaintance of his, and was inspired with the utmost affec- 
tion and admiration for him. She was also [he says, 
It is with pain the editor indulges in so ungallant an avowal 
respecting the impression she left on him] one of the most 
garrulous, credulous, inaccurate and in every way perplexing 
of reminiscents." And yet Macaulay seemed to rely implic- 
itly on what she said about Sir Philip and his literary works, 
and especially about the Junius Letters. In her letter to 
Lord Campbell, after Francis's death, she said: "He was 
very anxious to avoid either assent or denial [that he was 
Junius], lest he might implicate truth or honour, both of 
which he was very jealous of committing." Of course he 
was; as I have said before, he was an honest man, and 
would not have told an untruth about it, for the honor of 
being regarded as the author of the Letters. Besides, if he 
had laid a false claim to the authorship, he would naturally 
have feared detection. 

There is no doubt in my opinion, from her letter to 
Lord Campbell, that Francis equivocated to her about it. 
He was a very vain man, and would have enjoyed the repu- 
tation of being the author, very much. No doubt when she 
"tackled" him on the subject, and accused him of being the 
author, he did not deny "The soft impeachment." Had he 
really been the author of the Letters, is it not natural that 
he should have imparted the secret to his wife and his father, 
under a solemn injunction of secrecy? If he could not trust 
them, whom could he trust with the secret? Besides, this 
was about fifty years after the Junius Letters were written, 
when all public excitement about them had subsided, and 
there was no danger whatever of a prosecution being entered 



106 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

against the author, by the Government. Therefore, as I 
have before said, his biographers, Messrs. Park and Merivale, 
say: "If Francis was really the author, why did he not 
come out publicly, and claim the distinguished honour?" It 
would have rendered his name immortal! History informs 
us that he was a very vain man, and I do not believe that 
he could have died contented without revealing the secret. 
No one would have been prouder of this great distinction 
than Sir Philip Francis, had he been the real author. Be- 
sides, he could have realized quite a fortune, by publishing 
The Letters over his own name. There was but one reason 
why he did not make the announcement, and that was, he 
knew that he could not truthfully and conscientiously claim 
the authorship. As I have already said, he was an highly 
honorable man, and would not have claimed an honor to 
which he was not entitled. Besides, he knew that even if 
he had the temerity to make the claim, the real author 
would probably have exposed his identity, in asserting a 
false claim to the honor, which would have been the ruin of 
Mr. Francis. But "Truth is mighty and will prevail." The 
unquestionable fact is: Francis was not the author. Messrs. 
Park and Merivale, editors of the "Memoirs of Francis" 
were his friends, but they were strictly truthful all the way 
through the work of two large volumes, which I have care- 
fully read. In Volume I, page 6, they say: "His acknowl- 
edged writings, though numerous, are of inferior interest, be- 
ing reprints of speeches, and pamphlets on subjects of tem- 
porary importance." On page 9, Vol. I, they say: "It is 
important to observe that the Francis papers, voluminous 
as they are, contain no word of confession, on his part, as 
to the authorship of Junius, nor do they contain, so far as 
we have been able to discover, any direct evidence of it 
whatever." 

I will make a sketch of the private life of Sir Philip 
Francis, in order to contrast it with that of Junius. As I 
have already said, Junius was very grave, sedate and even 
austere in all of his writings. He never indulges in any lev- 
ity whatever. No jokes or anecdotes were ever employed by 



« 



PART II 107 

him. He is dignified throughout his works, and confines 
himself mostly to facts and solid arguments, interspersed 
with other attributes which are highly distinctive of his 
character. Frivolity and levity appear all the way through 
"The Francis Letters"; some instances of which, I already have, 
and others, I will reproduce herein; but by no means all of 
them, as they are too numerous for the size of this volume. 
I have said before, he had a wife and six children. She was 
almost a confirmed invalid, and spent much of her time at 
Bath, a seaside resort, for the recuperation of her health, 
leaving the children with him, as is shown in some of his 
letters. Her health was somewhat improved before he went 
as one of the Commissioners to India. He left her and the 
children in London, and was absent from them several years. 
This gave him an opportunity to indulge in some of his wild 
propensities, of which he seems to have availed himself. 
He soon got in the habit of imbibing too freely, and became 
quite a gambler, as betrayed by his letters. See Vol. I, pp. 
223, 224, 225 of the "Memoirs of Francis." 



PHILIP FRANCIS TO HIS WIFE 
(Page 158) 
"My dearest Betty: 

I snatch one moment, being all that I can spare from 
feasting, singing, gaming, riding, and sleeping in a bed as 
wide as our best parlour, to tell you that I perform all the 
offices of life above mentioned to admiration. 

"Lady Clive has it much at heart that her guests sleep 
well, and the beds are incomparable. This, you know, is a 
capital circinnstance. I am just risen from a monstrous 
dinner with twenty-three of Lord Clive 's free-voters at 
Bishop's Castle. Lady Clive drinks your health every day, 
not forgetting the bairns." 

Most of his other letters are pretty much of the same 
character. 



108 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Sir Philip Francis left London for Bengal, in India, 
about the 10th day of June, 1774, as one of the Commis- 
sioners. On arriving there, he set up quite an estabHsh- 
ment in the way of a residence, according to what he says 
in one of his letters on the subject. 

PHILIP FRANCIS TO JOHN BOURKE 

Calcutta, March 20, 1776 

"Here I live, Master of the finest house in Bengal, with 
a hundred servants, a country house and spacious gardens, 
horses and carriages — yet so perverse is my nature that the 
devil take me if I would not exchange the best dinner and 
best company I ever saw in Bengal for a beefsteak and clar- 
et at the Horn and let me choose my company. 

"An extraordinary stroke of fortune has made me inde- 
pendent. Two years more will probably raise me to affluent 
circumstances. ' ' 

Writing to Mr. D. Godfrey, he explains what the "extra- 
ordinary stroke of fortune" had been: "You must know, 
my friend, that on one blessed day of the present year of our 
Lord (1776), I had won about 20,000 pounds at Whist. It is 
reduced to about 12,000 pounds, and I now never play but 
for trifles, and that only once a week." 

His biographer says: "Philip Francis's life . in India 
had, upon the whole, been a disappointing one; even as 
early as in the year 1775, only two years after his arrival, 
he wrote to Mr. D'Oyle: 'I am unable to express to you 
how weary I am of my situation.' " 

From the foregoing letter he seems to have spent much 
of his time in riotous Hving, although he was getting a salary 
of ten thousand pounds, equal to $50,000 per annimi, for 
services to the Government. It was not long before a friction 
ensued between him and Warren Hastings, the head of the 
Commission. The breach kept widening between them until 
all social intercourse was cut off, and there were frequent 
clashes between them in their official capacities, which in- 
jurec? the services they were sent there to perform. Finally 



PART II 109 

the mutual ill feeling reached its climax. Hastings accused 
Francis of not telling the truth about some matter, and Fran- 
cis challenged him to fight a duel. 

"The opposition which was made by Francis to the 
proceedings on the Jumma brought to a crisis the animosi- 
ties which the struggle between him and the Governor 
General had so long maintained. On July 20th, 1780, Mr. 
Hastings, in answering a minute of Francis, declared, 'I do 
not trust to his promise of candour, convinced that he is in- 
capable of it. I judge of his public conduct by my experi- 
ence of his private, which I have found to be devoid of 
truth and honour.' The ground of these severe expressions, 
the Governor General stated to be a solemn agreement form- 
ed between him and Mr. Francis, which Mr. Francis had 
broken." Page 192, Vol. II in "Francis's Letters.' " 

PHILIP FRANCIS'S JOURNAL 

"August 15th, 1780 

"Revenue Board. When it [the council] was over I took 
him (Hastings) into a private room and read to him the fol- 
lowing words: 'Mr. Hastings, I am preparing a formal an- 
swer to the paper you sent me last night. As soon as it 
can be finished I shall lay it before you; but you must be 
sensible, sir, that no answer I can give to the matter of that 
paper can be adequate to the dishonour done me by the 
terms you have made use of. You have left me no alter- 
native but to demand personal satisfaction of you for the 
affronts you have offered me.' 

"As soon as I had read the preceding words to Mr. 
Hastings, he said he expected the demand, and was ready 
to answer it. We then agreed to meet on the morning of 
Thursday the 17th. I told him that I should desire Colonel 
Watson our chief Ingenier to attend me. 

"Mention the affair to Watson, who happened to dine 
with me today — he agrees to provide pistols, in order to pre- 
vent suspicion. 



110 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"16th. Employed in settling my affairs, burning papers, 
etc., in case of the worst. Dull work. This evening Mr. 
Hastings orders his minute to be recorded. 

"17th. Arrive at the ground near Belvedere, near an 
hour before Mr. H., who comes about 6 with Colonel Pearce. 
Watson marks out a distance of 14 common paces: the same he 
said at which Mr. Fox and Mr. Adam stood. My pistol 
missing fire, I changed it. We then fired together, and I 
was wounded and fell. I thought my backbone was broke, 
of course that I could not survive it. After the first confu- 
sion had subsided, and after I had suffered great inconveni- 
ence from being carried to the wrong place, I was at last 
conveyed to Major Tolley's house on a bed. The surgeons 
arrived in about an hour and a half from the time I was 
wounded, and cut out the ball and bled me twice in the 
course of the day. Mr. Hastings sends to know when he 
may visit me." Page 308, "Francis's Letters." 

After Francis had recovered sufficiently from his severe 
wound, he returned to London on October 18th, 1781. 

"With the return of Francis to England his official life 
ended. It had been a singularly checquered career; violent, 
ambitious, but in the end unsuccessful. 

"He returned to England an unpopular and discounte- 
nanced man. The Governor General, whom he had so 
fiercely opposed, had hosts of friends, both in Parliament 
and the India House, and a considerable amount of favour 
with the pubHc." .... Page 203, Vol. II, "Francis's 
Letters." 

No one spoke to him on his return except the King and 
Edmund Burke. 

Afterwards, he was elected as a Member of the House of 
Commons from Isle of Wright. Articles of impeachment 
were filed against Warren Hastings in Parliament, for mal- 
feasance in office. While in Parliament, Francis took a very 
active part in this prosecution. He even tried to get on a 
committee to which the question was referred, but it was 
thought best to leave him off, on account of his strong pre- 
judices against Hastings. The Committee, however, availed 



PART II 111 

themselves of his services in getting up evidence in making 
out their report. 

After the Committee returned their report, Francis made 
some violent speeches on the subject. Others were also 
made by different members of Parliament, but after several 
years of contention, Hastings was acquitted, which was very 
mortifying to Francis. 

Although he took a very active part in Parhament, and 
made speeches on many questions before them, he did not 
make much reputation. His biographers, in the "Memoirs 
of Francis," have this to say: "His life was a failure." Lord 
Thurlow said: "That it would have been a fortunate thing 
for England if the vessel which took Francis, Monson and 
Clavering to India, as Commissioners, had sunk before reach- 
ing there." Vol. II, page 268, "Memoirs of Sir Philip Fran- 
cis." He lived to quite an old age. 

It would be irksome to me to recapitulate the many rea- 
sons which I have assigned to show that Francis was not 
Junius, even if I had the space in this book; besides, I fear 
it would be tedious for the reader to go over them again. 
Therefore, I will revert to only one of them, which, I firmly 
believe is perfectly conclusive of the question at issue. I re- 
fer TO THE LETTER FROM SiR PhILIP FrANCIS HIMSELF, AD- 
DRESSED TO THE Editor of the Monthly Magazine, in 

ANSWER to his LETTER ON THE SUBJECT, TO FrANCIS, WHICH 

IS AS follows: "The great civility of your letter in- 
duces ME TO ANSWER IT, WHICH, IF I WOULD REFER MERELY 
TO ITS SUBJECT MATTER, I SHOULD HAVE DECLINED. WHETH- 
ER YOU WILL ASSIST IN GIVING CURRENCY TO A SILLY, 

MALIGNANT FALSEHOOD is a question for your own 

DISCRETION. To ME IT IS A MATTER OF PERFECT INDIFFER- 
ENCE. 

"I AM YOURS, ETC., 

P. FRANCIS." 

Leaving out the overwhelming proofs which I have 
added from cold facts and circumstances and from convinc- 
ing arguments of the very best critics and ablest writers on 



112 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

the subject, I would be willing to ''rest my case," as the law- 
yers say, on the foregoing letter of Mr. Francis to the 
Editor of the "Monthly Magazine." 

I cannot conceive how any fair minded person could 
possibly construe the above answer to mean anything else 
than a positive and unequivocal No! that he was not the 
author of the Junius Letters. 

Before quitting this branch of my subject, I will make 
a very apt quotation from Junius: "It would be 'piling reluc- 
tant quarto upon soHd folio' were I to say anything more, 
or adduce other facts on this intricate subject; besides, I do 
not wish to over-burden my readers with any superfluous 
matter. Quantum sufficitJ' 

I have now taken up and carefully considered all the 
argimients, assertions and surmises made by Mr. Taylor, 
H. R. Francis and other commentators on the subject (they 
produced no facts), in their vain attempts to prove that 
Sir Philip Francis was the author of the Junius Letters, and 
I believe that I have successfully refuted every one of them. 
Therefore, I will conclude Part II, and commence the dis- 
cussion of Part III of my subject. 



PART III 



PART III.— PAINE 

I now come to Part III of my subject, in which I sug- 
gest the name of Thomas Paine, the immortal patriot, states- 
man and philosopher, as the real author of the "Junius 
Letters," who did as much with his pen as our own dear 
Washington did with his sword, to achieve the Independence 
of America. It has truly been said, by a great author, that 
"The pen is mightier than the sword." 

Before entering into the discussion of this branch of my 
subject, I thought it might interest my readers to learn 
when, where and how I came to "fix upon" Thomas Paine 
as the author of those remarkable Letters. In 1853, an 
uncle of mine, who lived in Indiana, visited our old home 
in Virginia, and while there he invited me to return with 
him for a visit of six months, which I accepted, as I had 
just finished my education in the High School, and wanted 
a vacation before entering college. On my arrival there, I 
found that he had a large and well selected library, and be- 
ing very fond of reading, I spent much of my time with the 
books, while he was out on his plantation, attending to his 
large farming interests. He called my attention to the 
"Junius Letters," which I read with much interest and pleas- 
ure. I then read several other books, and finally picked out 
the "Political Works of Thomas Paine," which I eagerly 
devoured, as they were a revelation to me, as a boy about 
eighteen years old. Having carefully read them through, 
it occurred to me that I had recently read something very 
similar in style, and in subject matter; finally it dawned 
upon me that it was the "Junius Letters." I then commenc- 
ed to review them, and quickly discovered the great simi- 
larity of the style and subjects in both works. I soon be- 
came convinced that they were written by one and the same 



116 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

person, who, in my opinion, was Thomas Paine. I also 
perceived that they had almost the same objects in view. 

Junius attempted to revolutionize the English Govern- 
ment, in which he partly succeeded. Paine attempted to 
revolutionize the American Colonies, about two years later, 
in which he entirely succeeded; by his masterly pen and 
otherwise, he contributed greatly towards emancipating them 
from the tyranny of Great Britain, and establishing them as 
"The free and Independent United States of America." 

The chronology of Junius and Paine, their residence, 
etc., coincided exactly; and the age of Mr. Paine was suit- 
able for both of those remarkable achievements. These facts 
and circumstances made a strong and lasting impression on 
my mind at the time, and in after years I began to 
think of writing something on the subject, whenever I could 
find the timcy which did not occur until recently, when I 
took up the subject to employ some of my leisure hours, 
and for my own gratification, rather than for the emolu- 
ments which I might receive from it. I commenced to gath- 
er all the facts and information within my reach, in order 
to prove my contention that Thomas Paine was the author 
of those very celebrated Letters. I called on Brentanos, ex- 
tensive book-sellers in New York City, and gave them a list 
of the books which I needed, a few of which they had on 
hand, but most of them, I was. informed, would have to be 
procured from abroad, especially from London, where the 
Junius Letters were written and published. They proceeded 
to fill my order, and after some time, succeeded in finding 
them, at considerable expense, as nearly all of them were 
out of print, and had to be procured from private persons. 
A copy of "Junius Identified by Taylor" was in a dilapi- 
dated condition when I received it; both of the backs were 
missing, so I had to have it rebound. Price of book, only 
$6.00! 

Before going into further discussion of this subject, I 
wish to state that I am perfectly aware of the existence of a 
small book, called "Junius Unmasked," in which the author, 
who does not give his name, endeavors to prove that Thomas 




THOMAS PAINE AT ABOUT 38 YEARS 



Copied from a photograph taken from a life-size waxen effigy made by the 

Eden Musee Company, in New York, for the Museum of the 

Thomas Paine National Historical Association, at 

the New Rochelle, New York. 



PART III 117 

Paine was the author of the Junius Letters, and also, of 
the Declaration of Independence. Right here, let me assure 
my readers, on honor, that I never heard of, or saw the 
book until several months after I commenced writing my 
discussion on the subject, when, accidently, I noticed it in 
an index of authors in the "Poetical and Miscellaneous 
Works of Thomas Paine," which I was using in writing my 
book. Immediately I wrote Brentanos, book-sellers in New 
York, to send it to me, which they did. I found, on exami- 
nation, that it was written in 1872, and was published in the 
same year, by John Gray & Co., in Washington, D. C. 
From what I have written above, it will be perceived that 
I claim to have discovered that Thomas Paine was the au- 
thor of the Letters, in 1853, which was nineteen years before 
"Jiuiius Unmasked" was written. I will further state that 
I never had any information or intimation, from any source 
whatever, that Paine was Junius. Therefore, the discovery 
of Paine was original with me. I will refrain from making 
any criticism on the above named book. 

Before I commenced writing this book, I read everything 
within my reach on the subject, and made very copious 
notes as I proceeded, which took me over a year. After- 
wards I spent several weeks in analysing what I had read, 
and the notes which I had taken, in order that I might 
make no mistake, before beginning the discussion of my 
subject. As I progressed, it became more and more appar- 
ent to me, that I was right in my conjecture as to the real 
author of the Junius Letters, until it appeared as clear and 
straight as a ray of light to my mind. Not until then did 
I begin the preparation of this volume. Inasmuch as there 
is no positive proof of the identity of Junius, my readers 
will hardly expect to find that continuity in my discussion 
which they would find, were the conditions otherwise. In 
the first place, I feel constrained to give a short biographical 
sketch of my real author of the Letters: 

He was bom at Thetford, England, not far from Lon- 
don, on the 29th day of January, 1737; one author says the 
29th day of January, 1736; his father was a man of fine 



118 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

character, of a good education, and of very liberal intelli- 
gence. He belonged to the Society of Friends, the Quakers; 
his mother was a Miss Frances Cocke, daughter of a respect- 
able attorney of Thetford. Young Paine was in due time 
confirmed by the Bishop of Norwich, in the Episcopal 
Church, of which his mother was a member; he was edu- 
cated at Thetford Grammar School, in which he was taught 
all the usual branches of learning, including the Latin lan- 
guage, in all of which he became quite proficient. His biog- 
rapher says that he received a "good moral education, and 
a tolerable stock of useful learning from his father." Young 
Paine improved his opportunity in literature, and became 
very fond of reading the best political authors; he was espe- 
cially fond of astronomy and geography. His father was a 
stay-maker, that is, a manufacturer of cordage, then exten- 
sively used in making ship sails for vessels on the coast, in 
which business young Paine assisted him, at intervals of 
time. When about eighteen years old, he went to London 
and entered into business with a Mr. Morris, a noted stay- 
maker, in which he soon became an adept, and followed it 
quite successfully for a few years. Afterwards he went into 
the same business for himself, at Sandwich, in Kent, Eng- 
land, in which he prospered very considerably, but it gave 
him no time to cultivate his literary taste. Later on, he 
received an appointment as Exciseman under the English 
Government, which gave him a great deal of leisure for 
reading, studying and writing, which he improved to the 
best advantage. 

The fact is, that Robert Bums, the great Scottish poet, 
was likewise an Exciseman, which gave him time to write 
most of his beautiful poems and letters. The Excisemen of 
England then numbered several thousand, and there was 
considerable dissatisfaction among them as to their compen- 
sation in the business. They soon recognized the literary 
ability of their associate, Thomas Paine, and induced him 
to prepare a petition to Parliament "To have the state of 
their salaries taken into consideration," which he did in a 
very able and elaborate style. See page 79 of the "Poetical 




PART m 119 

and Miscellaneous Works of Thomas Paine." Not long after 
presenting this petition to Parliament, Paine was dismissed 
by the Government from the service as Exciseman. No 
public reason was ever assigned for his dismissal. It has 
been said by a clever author, and we may reasonably con- 
clude, that it was on account of the petition for an increase 
of their salaries, which, if raised only in a moderate amount 
to each Exciseman, would result in a very large simi in the 
aggregate for several thousand persons. Not long after 
his dismissal from the service, he made an application to the 
Government to be re-instated, a copy of which, in part, is 
as follows: 

PETITION TO THE BOARD OF EXCISE 

"Honourable Sirs: 

The time I enjoyed my former commission was short 
and unfortunate — an officer only a single year. No com- 
plaint of the least dishonesty, or intemperance ever appeared 
against me; and if I am so happy as to succeed in this very 
humble petition, I will endeavour that my future conduct 
shall as much engage your Honor's approbation, as my 
former has merited your displeasure. 

"I am your Honor's most dutiful, humble servant, 

THOMAS PAINE." 
London, July 3, 1766. 

Shortly thereafter he received a new commission, which 
he held for some little time. After leaving the Excise, he 
taught in a female Seminary in London, about two years. 
It would interest any one very much to read all he had to 
say to Parliament about raising the salaries of the Excise- 
men. It embraces many pages, and his argtiments are very 
lucid and cogent. 

Paine wrote a number of other articles on various sub- 
jects discussed, while he lived in London; and were I only 
to name them, they would cover almost a page, all of which 
may be seen in a book of 460 pages, entitled ''Poetical and 
Miscellaneous Works of Thomas Paine." It also contains 
some excellent pieces of poetry written by him. 



120 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

I will recite, for the benefit of the reader, a few of the 
most important subjects on which he wrote, and endeared 
himself to the hearts of the American people, viz: "Com- 
mon Sense," "The American Crisis," and "Rights of Man," 
"A Peace Congress of all Nations," "Coast Defences," "A 
National Bank," etc. He was the intimate friend and ad- 
viser of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Monroe, and other 
leaders in the cause of American independence. 

Before going further into the discussion of this part of 
my subject, I will copy the Preface to a very old volume, 
published in 1826, by Peter Roynold, Tannatt & Company, 
at Springfield, Massachusetts, entitled, "Political Works of 
Thomas Paine." This volimie I regard as the most reliable 
and authentic of any that I have seen, because it was pub- 
lished while the life, character and writings of Thomas Paine 
were fresh in the minds of the people. 

PREFACE TO THE BOOK 

"The primary object and design of the publisher of this 
work is to awaken the attention of the American people, and 
to enable them to form a just view of the character and 
political labours of* the immortal Thomas Paine, one of the 
principal founders of the American Republic. Had the gen- 
erous and successful efforts of the illustrious author of 
'Common Sense' been wanting, it is probable that our be- 
loved country would have been, at this time, groaning under 
the sickly and senseless pageantry of monarchy, instead of 
enjoying the choicest blessings of liberty. 

"The publisher most respectfully recommends to the 
American citizen generally, and to the youth of our country 
particularly, to peruse with feelings of the deepest interest, 
the political works of the late Thomas Paine. They will 
find in them a most valuable treasure: a text-book for them- 
selves and their children. By such a procedure only, can 
they justly appreciate the invaluable political services of 
their great and good benefactor. 

. "No well regulated mind can fail to reverence the man 
who first taught their fathers the important political truth. 




THOMAS PAINE AT ABOUT 56 YEARS 

From a drawing by Gaspard after the celebrated painting by Romney. 



"The World is My Coutitry; 

To Do Good My Religion." 

— Thomas Paine. 



PART III 121 

that 'Kings are hut men, and not unfrequently, the very 
worst of men.' The man therefore, who is ungrateful to the 
being whose potent pen dispelled the mists of prejudice, and 
electrified our country with the love of independence; and 
was the earliest, the most faithful, and able advocate of the 
superiority and purity of the republican system of govern- 
ment, must labour under the dominion of the most narrow 
and pernicious prejudices, must be a stranger to the love of 
liberty, and unacquainted with all of the finer sensibilities of 
our nature." 

There is another volume called "Principal Political 
Works of Thomas Paine," containing over 600 pages, devoted 
principally to his "Common Sense" and "American Crisis" 
pamphlets, and his "Rights of Man," to which I will refer 
the reader for his perusal. 

I will here quote what different authors have written 
about Thomas Paine: 

The late lamented lost Elbert Hubbard, in his booklet 
"Thomas Paine, the Great Commoner of Mankind," says: 
"The legislature of Pennsylvania voted Paine an honorariimi 
of three thousand dollars, and the University of Pennsyl- 
vania awarded him the degree of M. A., in recognition of 
eminent services to literature and human rights." John 
Quincy Adams said: "Paine's pamphlet, 'Common Sense,' 
crystallized public opinion and was the first factor in bring- 
ing about the Revolution." When independence was de- 
clared, Mr. Paine enlisted as a private soldier, but was soon 
made aid-de-camp to General Greene. He was an intrepid 
and effective soldier, and took an active part in various bat- 
tles. In December, 1776, he published his first pamphlet, 
"The American Crisis," the first words of which have gone 
into the electrotype of hiunan speech, commencing with the 
following words: "These are the times that try men's 
sotds," etc. 

The intent of "The Crisis" was to infuse courage into 
the sinking spirits of the soldiers of Washington, who ordered 
Paine 's book to be read at the head of every regiment, which 



122 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

was done. On June the Sth, 1780, Paine started a sub- 
scription list and headed it with $500.00, all the money he 
then had, to feed Washington's starving army. The total 
amount subscribed was a little over one million five hundred 
thousand dollars. This sum averted disaster, until the loan 
was procured from France, which Paine helped to secure, by 
a visit to Louis XVI. Paine was the first one in favor of 
universal peace, and an end of all war and militarism. 

Paine published in England, in 1791, two books known 
as "Rights of Man," Part I and Part II, in reply to Edmund 
Burke's "Thoughts on the Revolution in France," which re- 
ply by Paine was the greatest political treatise ever written. 
Paine was outlawed by England, and was prosecuted for 
writing it, but the prosecution was finally dropped. In a 
little pamphlet edited by the "Thomas Paine National His- 
torical Association," the following eulogy is written on "Com- 
mon Sense": "Thomas Paine was one of the founders of 
the great American Republic. Had it not been for his great 
efforts in liberty's behalf, it is quite as likely as not that to 
this very day this land would have remained under British 
rule. Thomas Paine wrote and published in January, 1776, 
the earliest plea for American independence. This was his 
pamphlet entitled 'Common Sense.' Previous to the appear- 
ance of Paine's masterly argument urging immediate separa- 
tion and resistance, the American Colonists, notwithstanding 
the impositions of Great Britain (unbearable taxations, etc.) 
had thought only of supplications and petitions to George 
III for relief. Despite the British Monarch's long-continued 
obduracy, and the fact that each new oppression was followed 
by another, and that he turned a deaf ear to all appeals, 
the Colonists still hoped on, with never a thought of rebellion. 
Even Washington, at this time, expressed loyalty to the King. 
Like a thunderbolt from the sky came Paine's magnificent 
argument for liberty. It electrified the people, and its 
stirring words swept like wildfire through the country. No 
pamphlet ever written sold in such vast numbers, nor did 
any ever before or since produce such marvellous results. 
Paine donated all the financial proceeds of the pamphlet to 



PART III 123 

the cause of liberty (as he did with all of his other books). 
Washington, now converted, wrote to his friends in praise 
of 'Common Sense,' asserting that Paine 's words were 'Sound 
doctrine and unanswerable reasoning.' Thomas Jefferson, John 
Adams, Franklin, Madison, all the great statesmen of the 
time, wrote praisefully of Paine's 'flaming arguments.' In 
July, six months after 'Common Sense' had awakened the 
people, the Declaration of Independence, embracing the 
chief arguments of Paine's great pamphlet, and much of its 
actual wording, was signed by the committee of patriots in 
Philadelphia. The great Revolution commenced at once. 
The oppressed Colonists took up arms at a great disadvant- 
age, by reason of lack of food, clothes, money and muni- 
tions of war; but, inspired by the forceful message of 'Com- 
mon Sense,' they fought bravely and well. When winter set 
in, however, the ill-clad, poorly nourished little army had 
been greatly reduced in numbers by desertions from its 
ranks. Many of the soldiers were shoeless and left bloody 
footprints on the snow-covered line of march. All were but 
half-hearted at this time and many utterly discouraged. 
Washington wrote most apprehensively concerning the situa- 
tion to the Congress. Paine, in the meantime (himself a 
soldier, with General Greene's army on the retreat from Fort 
Lee, N. J., to Newark) realizing the necessity of at once 
instilling renewed hope and courage in the soldiers, if the 
cause of liberty were to be saved, wrote by camp-fire at 
night, the first nimiber of his soul-stirring 'Crisis' commencing 
with the words: 'These are the times that try men's souls. 
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot, will, in this 
crisis, shrink from the servdce of their country, but he that 
stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and 
woman. Tyranny, Uke Hell, is not easily conquered; yet 
we have this consolation with us, that the harder the con- 
flict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too 
cheaply, we esteem too lightly; it is deamess only that gives 
everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper 
price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so 
celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.' 



124 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Washington ordered the 'Crisis' read aloud to every regi- 
ment of the army. 

"The effect was magical. Hope was renewed in every 
breast. Deserters returned to the ranks, men who had half- 
heartedly withheld from joining the patriot army took cour- 
age from Paine's thrilling words and shouldered muskets 
with the rest. The great cause, tottering on the brink of 
dissolution, was saved. Paine's 'Crisis' did it. Following 
the first number of the 'Crisis' came others — thirteen in all — 
the last commencing with the words: 'The times that tried 
men's souls are over.' Paine was not only a great author 
and statesman, but he was distinctively a pioneer, an origi- 
nator, an inventor and creator. To him we are indebted 
for many of the world's greatest ideas and reforms. Paine 
first proposed and first wrote the words 'United States of 
America': he first proposed the purchase of the Louisiana 
territory; first suggested the Federal Union of States. Much 
more might be told of this wonderful man, but this is merely 
a little leaflet, not a biographical volume. For a century 
the world has ignored this brilliant mind. It is time the 
world awakened to his merits. With that end in view, the 
Thomas Paine National Historical Association was organized 
and incorporated in New York some years ago. Through 
the efforts of this Association, Thomas Paine is at last com- 
ing into his own. The Association intends that Thomas 
Paine shall occupy that niche in the world's Temple of Fame, 
where he properly belongs, and to that end, it bends its 
every endeavor. The Association has established at New 
Rochelle, N. Y., in the house that Paine built on the farm 
presented him by the State of New York, in recognition of 
his patriotic services, a Thomas Paine National Museum. 
Admission is free. The Association publishes pamphlets and 
other literature from time to time on the subject of Thomas 
Paine. On January 29th, Paine's birthday, the Association 
has a commemorative meeting in Paine's honor at the Paine 
Monument in New Rochelle. The expenses of the Associa- 
tion are defrayed by the receipts from membership dues. 
The officers receive no remuneration for their services. 



PART III 125 

The membership dues are only one dollar a year (no initi- 
ation or other fees). The Association solicits members from 
all parts of the country. You have merely to send your 
name and one dollar for yearly dues to the Treasurer, and 
you will be enrolled as a member. Address Thomas Paine 
National Historical Association, 62 Vesey Street, New York, 
N. Y." 

In August, 1914, I had the pleasure of visiting the 
Museum of Thomas Paine National Historical Association, 
which is located at New Rochelle, N. Y., in the old Thomas 
Paine residence, which has been removed from its original 
site to a point near where he was buried, and where the 
Association has erected a beautiful marble monimient to his 
memory; on which, is the same inscription which was origi- 
nally on his tombstone, as requested by Paine in his will. 
This inscription is simply "Thomas Paine, Author of 'Com- 
mon Sense,' Died June 8th, 1809, aged 72 years and 5 
months." The old residence, near by, is in a good state of 
preservation. It contains a complete Museimi, which is 
kept open all the time, and where the visitor, who is always 
welcomed by the keeper, can see many old pictures and 
paintings of the great author of "Common Sense," as well 
as many of his writings, and a large number of curios, which 
were associated with his life. On my visit there, I was 
particularly struck with a waxen effigy of Paine, which was 
formerly in the Eden Musee, in New York, and was bought 
by some admirer of Paine and presented to the Association. 
It is a very artistic hkeness of him when he was about 
thirty-five years old. It is life-size, sitting in a chair by a 
table, on which is a candle and candle-stick, with ink and 
paper on the table. He is holding a quill pen in his hand, 
as if he had just quit writing. It is said to be a "Speaking 
likeness of him." His figure, hair, eyes and the complexion 
are perfect. I got a very good picture of it while there, 
which I have reproduced in this book, in order that the 
reader may see what a magnificent specimen of manhood he 
was. 



126 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

I consider it a duty of every native-bom American citi- 
zen to join this Association, which costs only one dollar a 
year, and help perpetuate the memory of the great patriot, 
statesman and philosopher, who contributed so much to the 
sacred cause of freedom in America. 

Mr. Wm. M. Vander Weyde, President of Thomas 
Paine National Historical Association, in his pamphlet 
''Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?" says; 
"Thomas Paine was one of Jefferson's closest and most inti- 
mate friends. He was the most brilliant writer in the Colo- 
nies, author of that remarkable pamphlet 'Common Sense,' 
urging separation and independence from Great Britain, a 
pamphlet so virile and powerful that its effect has never 
been paralleled in literary history. Paine's writings were 
marked by their lucidity, logic and sound reasoning. All 
his arguments were presented with such force, simplicity of 
statement and incontrovertible deductions of fact, that his 
magic pen was hailed on every hand as the instrument of 
the country's salvation." In his pamphlet, Mr. Vander 
Weyde contends very artfully and plausibly that the Decla- 
ration of Independence was written by Thomas Paine. Sev- 
eral other writers have enunciated the same doctrine, among 
whom, are Van Buren Denslow, Joel Moody, William H. 
Burr, James Edgerton and Albert Payson Terhune, but I 
hardly agree with those gentlemen, because I think it would 
have "leaked out" by some positive proof by Paine or Jeffer- 
son, and besides, it seems reasonable that a great statesman, 
and a thorough Virginian, like Thomas Jefferson, would have 
awarded to Thomas Paine, his friend, the honor of the pro- 
duction of this immortal docimient. However, I believe 
that Mr. Jefferson obtained some of his ideas from the writ- 
ings of Mr. Paine, who was the first person who dared to ad- 
vise and urge the American Colonies to withdraw their 
allegiance from Great Britain, and declare their independ- 
ence, and did all in his power to help them to accomplish 
that end. It is difficult for me to believe that Thomas Jef- 
ferson should have permitted the distinguished honor of 
writing the Declaration of Independence to have abided 




THE AUTHOR 

at the old homestead of Thomas Paine, at New Rochelk 
New York, in August, 1914. 



PART III 127 

with him, if, in fact, it belonged to his friend, Thomas Paine. 
Therefore, I do not feel warranted in plucking a laurel from 
the brow of Jefferson, the great apostle of democracy, even 
to add another jewel to the crown of Paine, the greater states- 
man and philosopher. If I could consistently do so, I 
would gladly appropriate this distinguished honor for Thomas 
Paine. But when I turn to Vol. I of the "Life of Thomas 
Jefferson" by that astute writer, Henry S. Randall, LL.D., 
I find much to convince me otherwise. As this question is 
entirely foreign to my subject, I will not burden my readers 
with a discussion of it. 

It may be of interest to the reader to know what other 
prominent writers have said about Thomas Paine; therefore 
I will recite the opinions of a few of them. Robert Cheat- 
ham, an English writer, had the following to say of Paine's 
''Common Sense": "It spoke a language which the Ameri- 
can Colonists had felt but not thought. Its popularity, ter- 
rible in its consequences to the parent country [Great 
Britain] was unexampled in the history of the press. At 
first involving the Colonists, it was thought, in the cause of 
rebellion, and pointing a road leading inevitably to ruin, it 
was read with indignation and alarm, but when the reader 
[and everybody read it] recovering from the first shock, re- 
perused it, its arguments, surmounting his feelings and appeal- 
ing to his pride, re-animated his hopes and satisfied his un- 
derstanding that 'Common Sense,' backed by the resources 
and force of the Colonies, poor and feeble as they were, 
coiild alone rescue them from the unqualified oppression with 
which they were threatened. The unknown author, in the 
moments of enthusiasm which succeeded, was held as an 
angel sent from Heaven, to save from all the horrors of slavery, 
by his timely, powerful and unerring counsels, a faithful, but 
abused, a brave, but misrepresented people." 

John Adams was supposed to be the author of "Com- 
mon Sense" but he replied: "I could not have written any- 
thing in so manly and striking a style." Randall, in his 
"Life of Jefferson," says: "A more effective appeal never 
went to the bosom of a nation. Its tone, its manner, its 



128 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Biblical allusions, its evidence of an openly impassioned ap- 
peal to feelings, and its unanswerable common sense, were ex- 
quisitely adapted to the great audience to which it was ad- 
dressed. And calm investigation will satisfy the historical 
student, that its effect, in preparing the popular mind for 
the Declaration of Independence, exceeded that of any other 
paper, speech or docimient made to favor it, and it would 
scarcely be an exaggeration to add, than all other such 
means put together." Washington also spoke of "Common 
Sense" in the very highest praise, as a docinnent to convince 
the hesitating Colonies that it was their duty to separate 
themselves from the dominion of Great Britain. 

History records that just prior to the time of the ap- 
pearance of "Common Sense," even Washington himself was 
strongly in favor of compromising the difference between the 
American Colonies and Great Britain, but after reading the 
powerful appeals of Paine to the people, he soon became an 
advocate of separation from the parent country. 

I will refer my kind readers to Part I of this argu- 
ment, where I have expressed my opinion of Junius and his 
Letters, and in order to condense this subject as much as 
possible, I will here adopt the text of that opinion, and con- 
sider that it is repeated here, as it is entirely applicable to 
Thomas Paine, inasmuch as I am thoroughly convinced that 
Junius and Paine are identically one and the same person. 
Of course, we must take into consideration the fact that, 
although their subjects were close of kin, still, they were not 
identical. 

In addition to the valuable services which Paine did by 
his writings, under the name of "Common Sense," for the 
Colonies, he aided them in other most substantial ways. He 
gave the copyright of these pamphlets to the Colonies. He 
had 500,000 copies printed and sold, which realized the enor- 
mous sum of $250,000.00, out of which, he retained only the 
bare cost of publication, and the balance went to carry on 
the war for independence. Besides, he headed a subscrip- 
tion with $500.00 from his private means, which was circu- 
lated throughout the country, and reached the enormous 



PART III 129 

sum of $1,500,000 which went to the support of the army. 
Had it not been for the help which Paine contributed toward 
the support of the army, and the expenses of the Govern- 
ment, the Colonies would never have achieved their inde- 
pendence, but would have remained in abject slavery to 
England. 

The subscribers to the above amount had themselves 
incorporated into "The Bank of America," which was origi- 
nated by Mr. Paine, and with this money, and what was 
realized from Paine 's writing, the war was carried on by the 
young nation, until funds were procured from France. 

The historian informs us that shortly after the first 
pamphlet was issued, it was followed by a second, a third 
and a fourth, in proper order. They all breathed the lan- 
guage of revolution against, and independence of, the Gov- 
ernment of England. Soon the people began to lean towards 
his doctrines. They saw in these pamphlets "A lamp unto 
their feet and a light unto their path," which was to lead 
them out of the wilderness of oppression into the land of 
liberty and independence, almost as miraculously as the 
children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian bondage. 
And notwithstanding they had some doubts, they "Took 
counsel of their hopes," and many town meetings were held 
to consider what steps should be taken to meet the crisis 
then before them. The historian says, that soon after these 
pamphlets reached Albany, N. Y., a great excitement pre- 
vailed among the people, and a mass meeting of the citizens 
was called to take the matter into consideration; that after 
much discussion, a committee was appointed to answer the 
argimients of "Common Sense," and after long dehberation 
they reported to the meeting that they could not be answered. 

In order to express the matter more distinctly, I will 
quote what Calvin Blanchard says in his "Life of Paine": 

"When the American Revolution had progressed as far 
as the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, John Adams, 
Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, 
had met together to read the terrible dispatches they had re- 
ceived. Having done which, they pause in gloom and silence. 



130 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Presently Franklin speaks: 'What', he asks, 'is to be the 
end of all this? Is it to obtain justice of Great Britain, to 
change the Ministry, to soften a tax? Or is it for' — He 
paused; the word INDEPENDENCE yet choked the bravest 
throat that sought to utter it. 

"At this critical moment, Paine enters. Frankhn in- 
troduces him and he takes his seat. He well knows the 
cause of the prevailing gloom, and breaks the deep silence 
thus: 'These States of America must be independent of Eng- 
landl This is the only solution of this question!' They all 
rise to their feet at this political blasphemy. But nothing 
daunted, he goes on; his eye lights up with patriotic fire as 
he paints the glorious destiny which America, considering 
her vast resources, ought to achieve, and adjures them to 
lend their influence to rescue the Western Continent from 
the absurd, unnatural, and unprogressive predicament of be- 
ing governed by a small island, three thousand miles off. 
Washington leaped forward, and taking both his hands, be- 
sought him to publish these views in a book. 

"Paine went to his room, seized his pen, lost sight of 
every other object, toiled incessantly, and in December, 
1775, the work entitled 'Common Sense,' which caused the 
Declaration of Independence, and brought both people and 
their leaders face to face with the work they had to accom- 
plish, was sent forth on its mission. 'That book,' says Dr. 
Rush, 'burst forth from the press with an effect that has 
been rarely produced by types and paper, in any age or 
country.' 'Have you seen the pamphlet, "Common Sense"? 
asked Major General Lee, in a letter to Washington; 'I never 
saw such a masterly, irresistible performance, it will, if I 
mistake not, in concurrence with the transcendent folly and 
wickedness of the Ministry, give the coup de grace to Great 
Britain. In short, I own myself convinced by the argu- 
ments of the necessity of separation." Mr. Blanchard con- 
tinues: "The tribute of Paine's greatest enemy was in these 
words: 'The cannon of Washington was not more formida- 
ble to the British than the pen of the author of 'Common 
Sense.' 



PART III 131 

"It was at this crisis, this interval between fear and 
principle, that Thomas Paine, then unknown as a public 
character, published the pamphlet 'Common Sense.' 

"This remarkable and inestimable production may be 
described from the anathemas of the enemies of liberty. It 
has received the highest possible praise from the pen of 
Cheatham, one of Thomas Paine 's most venal and shameless 
calumniators, who thus characterizes the work: 'This pam- 
phlet of forty-seven octavo pages, holding out relief by pro- 
posing INDEPENDENCE to an oppressed and despairing 
people, was published in January, 1776. Speaking a language 
which the Colonists had felt, but not thought, its popularity, 
terrible in its consequences to the mother country, was unex- 
ampled in the history of the press. At first involving the 
Colonists, it was thought, in the crime of rebellion, and 
pointing to a road leading inevitably to ruin, it was read 
with alarm and indignation, but when the reader (and every- 
body read it) recovering from the first shock, re-perused it, 
its argimients, ravishing his feelings and appealing to his 
pride, re-animated his hopes and satisfied his understanding, 
that 'Common Sense,' backed by the resources and force of 
the Colonies, poor and feeble as they were, could alone res- 
cue them from the unqualified oppression with which they 
were threatened. The unknown author, in the moments of 
enthusiasm which succeeded, was hailed as an angel sent 
from Heaven to save from all of the horrors of slavery, by 
his timely, powerful, and unerring counsels, a faithful but 
abused, a brave but misrepresented people.' 

"When 'Common Sense' arrived at Albany, the conven- 
tion of New York was sitting there. General Scott, a lead- 
ing member, alarmed at the boldness and novelty of its 
argument, mentioned his fears to several of his distinguished 
colleagues, and suggested a private meeting in the evening, 
for the purpose of writing an answer. They accordingly 
met, and Mr. McThesson read the pamphlet through. At 
first it was deemed necessary and expedient to answer it 
without delay, but casting about for the requisite arguments. 



132 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

they concluded to adjourn and meet again. In a few even- 
ings they re-assembled, but so rapid was the change of 
opinion in the Colonies at large in favor of independence, 
that they agreed not to oppose it." 

Dr. Gordon in his History of the American Revolution, 
writes thus: "The publications which have appeared have 
greatly promoted the spirit of independency, but no one so 
much as the pamphlet under the signature of 'Common 
Sense,' written by Thomas Paine, an Englishman. Nothing 
could have been better timed than this performance — it has 
produced astonishing effects. 

"Testimonies of this sort from friends and enemies 
could easily be multiplied, and proofs almost without end 
could be adduced to show how much the cause of mankind 
was promoted by Thomas Paine in thus assisting to lay the 
foundation of the American Republic, — the example of which, 
will in time be followed by every people on the earth. The 
principles maintained in 'Common Sense' are applicable to 
all times, and to all mankind. They should be carefully 
studied by every one who is at all desirous to possess that 
information without which he must ever remain a slave at 
heart." 

"Paine was the first to advise the Americans to assert 
their independence,^^ says Richard Carlile in his "Life of 
Paine." "This he did in his famous pamphlet, entitled 
'Common Sense,' which, for its consequences and rapid ef- 
fect, was the most important production that ever issued 
from the press. This pamphlet appeared at the commence- 
ment of the year 1776, and electrified the minds of the op- 
pressed Americans. They had not ventured to harbor the 
idea of independence, and they dreaded war so much as to 
be anxious for reconciliation with Britain. One incident 
which gave a stimulus to the pamphlet 'Common Sense' was, 
that it happened to appear on the very day that the King 
of England's speech reached the United States, in which the 
Americans were denounced as rebels and traitors, and in 
which speech it was asserted to be the right of the Legisla- 
ture to bind the Colonies in all cases whatsoever! Such 



PART III 133 

menace and assertion as this could not fail to kindle the ire 
of the Americans, and 'Common Sense' came forward to 
touch their feelings with the spirit of independence in the 
very nick of time." 

In the meantime, England was sending troops and 
munitions of war to America, to subdue the Colonies, and 
the people became more and more restless. On the 19th 
day of April, 1775, the battle of Lexington was fought be- 
tween a detachment of EngHsh soldiers and the citizen sol- 
diery, several of whom were killed in the fight. 

After the meeting at Albany adjourned, they advised 
active and open rebellion against Great Britain. Soon prepa- 
rations were made for war, in resistance to their open enemy. 
General Washington was placed in charge of the troops, as 
they were raised and put into service. Meanwhile there was 
still a large ninnber of citizens who had not joined the army. 
Many of them honestly feared the consequences, in the event 
that the patriotic little army of Washington should be de- 
feated, and they, no doubt, hoped to escape most of the 
hardships which would be visited upon the army, and those 
who sympathized with them in "the cause." Others re- 
mained out of the army from sheer cowardice; there still 
was another class of citizens who took no interest in the 
terrible conflict, but did all they could to aid the British 
army. These were called "Tories," and were hated and 
despised by the patriots and all friends of "the cause." 
They were taunted for their meanness and infidelity to their 
country, and in many instances were prosecuted for their 
treasonable acts against the Government. Many of them 
left the country and their estates were confiscated. All the 
while Mr. Paine was writing by the light of the camp-fires, 
at night, paying particular attention to each class of these 
citizens, above referred to. 

A convention was soon called by the Colonies to con- 
sider making a Declaration of Independence, and the estab- 
lishment of a Provisional Government, under the advice of 
Mr. Paine and other leading patriots. At this convention, a 
committee was appointed for the purpose of drafting our 



134 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

present Declaration of Independence. After due delibera- 
tion on the subject, the committee appointed Thomas Jeffer- 
son to draft the immortal document, which he did, and de- 
livered it to a special meeting of the committee, and it was 
unanimously adopted by them, and on July 4th, 1776, it 
was published to the world, which gave birth to the free and 
Independent United States of America. 

The war had progressed for about two years; dark 
clouds had begun to hover over the American people; Eng- 
land had quartered her troops in all of the principal cities. 
General Washington had met with several reverses in battle; 
his army was depleted by death, sickness and desertion; his 
soldiers were poorly fed, badly clothed and poorly paid; 
consequently they were greatly dejected in spirit. Many of 
the citizens began to fear that they had made a mistake in 
entering the conflict. At this juncture of affairs, Thomas 
Paine, who was in the army as a private soldier, again took 
up his pen, and by the light of the camp-fires, at night, be- 
gan a series of sixteen pamphlets, which he called "The 
American Crisis," and were also signed "Common Sense." 
In these pamphlets he discussed the critical condition of the 
army and the country, and suggested methods and means 
for greatly improving their condition, and appealed strongly 
to the patriotism of the whole country to sustain "The 
cause" to the utmost of their ability, assuring them that 
under the Providence of God, they would come out victor- 
ious. He had printed over 5,000 of these remarkable pam- 
phlets, and spread them broadcast all over the country. 
They were eagerly sought for, and more eagerly read by 
every one who could procure a copy. 

It is impossible for me herein, even to comment on 
Paine's sixteen "Crisis Pamphlets," embracing 230 pages; 
every line of which should be carefully read by every Ameri- 
can-bom citizen who is now enjoying the inestimable blessings 
of Liberty, which these immortal documents did so much to 
achieve and to maintain. All the while Paine stood like a 
faithful sentinel on the watch-tower of liberty, and at every 
approach of danger he gave the alarm to the people, by 



PART III 136 

writing another stirring "Crisis," and distributing it among 
them, advising what should be done to complete and to pre- 
serve their Independence, which for seven long and dreary- 
years, hung by a bare thread. However, I cannot refrain 
from copying a few extracts from those wonderful papers. 

"Crisis" No. I was written in a great emergency, when 
General Washington's little army had recently met with 
several reverses in battle, by the overwhelming forces of the 
British army. His troops were worn out and very much 
depleted by being killed and wounded in various engage- 
ments, and by sickness and desertions. Consequently they, 
and the people in general, were very much disheartened, and 
scarcely knew which way to turn for support. Paine was a 
soldier, with them in the army, and was thoroughly ac- 
quainted with their sad condition — many of them being 
without shoes and very poorly clothed. He realized the 
necessity that something must be done, and that quickly, 
to inspire them and the country with hope and courage. 
At once he took up his pen, and while others were sleeping, 
he sat up at nights, by the camp-fire, and wrote the first 
of his very celebrated papers, known as the "Crisis," which 
commenced as follows: "These are the times that try men's 
souls." 

The proceeds of the sale of these pamphlets, as they 
appeared from time to time, amounted to the sum of about 
$250,000, which he also donated to the support of the army 
and the Government. As they appeared. General Washing- 
ton ordered them to be read at the head of every Company 
in his command, in order to cheer their drooping spirits, and 
nerve them to greater acts of heroism. Their influence 
acted like magic in the great struggle for freedom. The 
whole country became inspired with hope, and new life was 
injected into the army. It was resolved by the Congress to 
conduct the war to a "successful termination," which, as we 
all know, was finally accomplished, and we are to-day en- 
joying the full fruition of the benefits of liberty and inde- 
pendence, which our ancestors bequeathed to us. Who can 



136 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

estimate the influence which "Common Sense" contributed 
to this glorious result? 

All these wonderful pamphlets, as we have seen, were 
written by Thomas Paine over the signature "Common 
Sense," just as all the political Letters of Junius were writ- 
ten over that of "Junius." These pamphlets were attributed 
to several of the most illustrious patriots in the Colonies, 
among whom were Dr. Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John 
Adams, all of whom denied the authorship. Mr. Paine was 
very solicitous to keep the secret from becoming known, and 
for the very best reasons: he had the same motives for con- 
cealing his identity as the author of "Common Sense" which 
Junius had for concealing his identity with the name of 
"Junius." Paine feared he would be arrested by the author- 
ities of Great Britain, then in America, and tried for pro- 
moting rebellion of the Colonies against the English Govern- 
ment. Very likely he would have been convicted and sent 
to London for imprisonment in the Tower, and perhaps 
it might have cost him his life. For the same reason Junius 
concealed his identity in England. After the Revolution had 
progressed far enough to insure his safety from arrest, Paine 
let it be known that he was the author. As I have before 
remarked, it has been said, "The pen is mightier than the 
sword." I am far from intending to disparage the great and 
immortal Washington, but I do honestly and conscientiously 
believe that the honor of achieving the independence of 
the American Colonies should be, at least, equally divided 
between Thomas Paine, as the author, and Washington, as 
the soldier, who accomplished these wonderful results. The 
former furnished the soldiers, by the urgent and patriotic 
appeals of his pen, and likewise contributed much of the 
money and supplies, through his influence, to feed and clothe 
the army, and the latter led them on to victory by his skill 
and valor. 

I will call the attention of my readers to extracts from 
two letters commenting upon Lord North, as Prime Minister, 
one by Paine, the other by Junius; and although they were 
written some time apart, it will be observed that the same 



PART III 137 

vein of bitter sarcasm runs through both of them; and their 
style is identical. 

In the VII "Crisis" Letter Paine says: "As for Lord 
North, it is his happiness to have in him more philosophy 
than sentiment, for he bears flogging like a top, and sleeps 
the better for it. His punishment becomes his support, for 
while he suffers the lash for his sins, he keeps himself up by 
twirling about in politics. He is a good mathematician, and 
in everything else, nothing at all." Now observe what Jun- 
ius says of the same person. They are similar in their likes 
and dislikes. 

In Letter I of Junius, he says of Lord North: "A lead- 
ing Minister repeatedly called down for absolute ignorance, 
ridiculous motions, ridiculously withdrawn, deliberate plans 
disconcerted, a week's preparation of graceful oratory lost 
in a moment, gives us some, though not adequate ideas, 
of Lord North's parliamentary abilities and influence. Yet, 
before he had the misfortune of becoming Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, he was neither an object of derision to his ene- 
mies, nor a melancholy pity to his friends. I hope he, the 
Duke of Grafton [then Prime Minister], will not rely on the 
fertility of Lord North's genius for finance; his Lordship 
is yet to give us the first proof of his abilities." They are 
very similar in many other respects. Here I will compare 
the similarity of the religion of Paine and Junius. 

In order to remove all prejudice from the minds of our 
church people, on account of the religious tenets held by 
Mr. Paine, I will make a short statement of his views on 
religion. He says: "I believe in one God and no more, and 
I hope for happiness beyond this life." "The world is my 
country, to do good is my religion." "All religions are in 
their nature mild and benign when not associated with polit- 
ical systems." "As to religion, I hold it to be the indispen- 
sable duty of all governments to protect all conscientious 
professors thereof, and I know of no other business which 
government has to do therewith." 

Paine, in his Epistle to the Quakers, says: "The writer 
of this, is one of those few who never dishonors religion. 



138 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

either by ridiculing or caviling at any denomination whatso- 
ever. To God, and not to man are all men accountable on 
the score of religion." "PhUo Junius," who was really Junius, 
in Letter No. 54 of his Private Letters, says, on religion: 
"If I thought Junius capable of uttering a disrespectful 
word of the religion of his country, I should be the first to 
renounce and give him up to the public contempt and indig- 
nation." Many of his letters show that he was a strong 
believer in God. On pages 251 and 252, "Poetical and Mis- 
cellaneous Works of Thomas Paine," he says: "Do we want to 
contemplate His power? We see it in the immensity of the 
Creation. Do we want to contemplate His wisdom? We 
see it in the unchangeable order by which the incomprehensi- 
ble whole is governed. Do we want to contemplate His 
munificence? We see it in the abundance with which He 
fills the earth. Do we want to contemplate His mercy? We 
see it in His not withholding that abundance even from the 
unthankful." 

Remember, Paine was raised as a Quaker, which his 
father was, his mother being a member of the Established 
Church of England, and Paine was baptized in her Church. 
He was, what in this day, is called a Unitarian. He be- 
lieved in God, but did not believe in the Trinity. 

The Jewish religion is very similar. So is the religion 
of the Quakers. 

Some one whose name I have omitted from my notes, 
says: "Thomas Paine was the legitimate ancestor of Hosea 
Ballou, who founded the Universal Church, and also of Theo- 
dore Parker, who made Unitarianism in America an intel- 
lectual torch." 

It would be almost impossible for me to introduce the 
great nimiber of instances of similarity between Junius and 
Paine. It would require the greater part of another volimie 
to copy their writings touching the subject. I can only re- 
fer the reader to a few of them. Vide Crisis, Nos. V and I, 
III and VII, and Letters of Junius Nos. 68, 49, 35, 9, and 
20 on Religion. They were not only alike in their religion, 



PART III 139 

but in their friendships and animosities, and in every peculi- 
arity of their natures. Before commencing to write this book, 
I made a diHgent search through all the works on the sub- 
ject, which were at my command, to find anything which 
militated against my hypothesis, and I have found nothing, — 
everything confirmed it. If I had discovered even one fact, 
I most certainly would not have gone to the trouble, labor 
and expense of getting out this volimie. And why? If I 
had not thoroughly convinced myself of the certainty of my 
theory, I could not expect to convince my readers. Any one 
uncertainty would have kept rising up before me, like the 
ghost of Banquo at the feast which would not down at the 
bidding of Macbeth. It would have stalked through my 
dreams by night, and haunted me by day. Besides, I have no 
ambition to try to convince anyone of a fallacy. 

In a letter written by Junius on the 19th of December, 
1769, "To the Printer of the PubHc Advertiser," which is 
known as his "Letter to the King," wherein he first speaks 
of the American Colonies "Looking forward to Independence," 
he says to George III: "They [the Colonies] consider you 
as united with your servants [the Ministry] against America; 
and know how to distinguish the Sovereign and a venal Par- 
liament on one side, from the real sentiments of the Eng- 
lish people on the other. Looking forward to independence, 
they might possibly receive you for their King; but, if ever 
you retire to America, be assured they will give you such a 
covenant to digest as the presbytery of Scotland would have 
been ashamed to offer to Charles the Second. — They left 
their native land in search of freedom, and found it in a 
desert. Divided as they are into a thousand forms of policy 
and religion, there is one point in which they all agree; they 
equally detest the pageantry of a King and the supercilious 
hypocrisy of a bishop." In November, 1774, this same 
Junius, in the person of Thomas Paine, came to America, 
as I have already stated, at the instance of Dr. Franklin, 
and soon espoused the cause of Independence of the Amer- 
ican people, under the name of "Common Sense," carrying 



140 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

out the same doctrines which Junius enunciated six years 
prior to this time, in his addresss to the King, above referred to. 

Here I will discuss and copy some parts of the pam- 
phlets of "Common Sense," which brought on the Revolu- 
tionary War. 

If convenient, I would like for the critical reader to 
examine the first two pamphlets of "Common Sense," and 
observe how adroitly and wisely the author avoids even a 
suggestion of independence to the Colonies, until he led 
their minds up to the point where they saw its feasibility 
as he did, lest they should become alarmed at such a vent- 
ure, and thereby he would lose all influence over them. 

In his first pamphlet of "Common Sense," he discusses 
"The origin and design of Government, in general, with con- 
cise remarks on the English Constitution." He proceeds as 
follows, in parts of his discussion: "Some writers have so 
confounded society with Government, as to leave little or no 
distinction between them; whereas they are not only differ- 
ent, but have different origins. Society in every state is a 
blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a 
necessary evil, in its worst state, an intolerable one; for 
when we suffer, we are exposed to the same miseries by 
a Government, which we might expect in a country without 
Government; our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we 
furnish the means of which we suffer. Government, like 
dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of Kings 

are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise 

Wherefore, security being the true design and end of Govern- 
ment, it unanswerably follows, that whatever form thereof 
appears most likely to ensure it to us with the least expense 
and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others." .... 
His next suggestion relates to the tenure of office, by 
their representatives, which is identical with the views of 
Junius, as to the tenure of office, in the English Parliament. 
See page 3, Principal Political Works of Paine: "That the 
interest of every part of the colony may be attended to, 
it will be found best to divide the whole into convenient 
parts, each part sending its proper number; and that the 



PART III 141 

elected might never form to themselves an interest separate 
from the electors, prudence will point out the propriety of 
having elections often, because as the elected might by that 
means return and mix again with the general body of the 
electors in a few months, their fidelity to the public will be 
secured by the prudent reflection of not making a plot for 
themselves." .... Furthermore, it will be noticed 
by the reader that Junius and Paine both advocate having 
elections often, in order that the electors might not lose 
control of their representatives. On page 89, Vol. I of 
"Junius by Woodfall," Junius says: "With regard to any 
influence of the constituents over the conduct of the rep- 
resentatives, there is little difference between a seat in Parli- 
ament for seven years and a seat for life. The prospect of 
your resentment is too remote; and although the last session 
of a septennial Parliament be usually employed in courting 
the favour of the people, consider that, at this rate, your 
representatives have six years for offence, and but one for 
atonement. A death-bed repentance seldom reaches to 
restitution." 

Paine, then fully discusses the difference betwen a Mon- 
archial and a Republican form of Government. 

"The prejudice of Englishmen in favor of their own 
Government by Kings, Lords and Commons, arises as much 
or more from national pride than reason." .... 
His second "Common Sense" pamphlet is on "Monarchy 
and Hereditary Succession," which he discusses very elabo- 
rately, wherein he comes to the point of a "Separation from 
England.'" He says: "To the evil of monarchy we have 
added that of hereditary succession; and as the first is a 
degradation and lessening of ourselves, so the second, claimed 
as a matter of right, is an insult and imposition on posterity. 
For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could 
have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference 
to all others forever, and though himself might deserve some 
decent degree of honors of his contemporaries, yet his de- 
scendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them. One 
of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary 



142 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

rights of kings, is that nature disapproves it, otherwise she 
would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving man- 
kind an ass for a lion 

"England, since the conquest, hath known some good 
monarchs, but groaned beneath a much larger niunber of 
bad ones, yet no man in his senses can say that their claim 
under William the Conqueror is a very honorable one. A 
French bastard, landing with an armed banditti, and estab- 
lishing himself King of England against the consent of the 
natives, is, in plain terms, a very paltry, rascally original. 
It is needless to spend much time in exposing the folly of 
hereditary right; if there are any so weak as to believe it, 
let them promiscuously worship the ass and the lion, and 
welcome." . . . ."I shall neither copy their humility nor 
disturb their devotion." .... "But it is not so much 
the absurdity as the evil of hereditary succession which con- 
cerns mankind. Did it ensure a race of good and wise men 
it would have the seal of divine authority, but as it opens 
a door to the foolish, the wicked, and the improper, it hath 
in it the nature of oppression. Another evil which attends 
hereditary succession is, that the throne is subject to be 
possessed by a minor of any age; all of which time the regen- 
cy, under the cover of a king, have every opportunity and 
inducement to betray their trust. The same national mis- 
fortune happens when a king, worn out with age and in- 
firmity, enters the last stage of human weakness. In both 
cases the public becomes the prey of every miscreant who 
can tamper successfully with the follies either of age or 
infancy." .... "The contest for monarchy and suc- 
cession, between the houses of York and Lancaster, laid 
England in a scene of blood for many years. Twelve pitched 
battles, besides skirmishes and sieges, were fought between 
Henry and Edward, twice was Henry prisoner to Edward, 
who in his turn was prisoner to Henry." .... "The 
nearer any government approaches to a republic, the less 
business there is for a king. For it is the Republican and 
not the Monarchical part of the constitution of England 
which Englishmen glory in, viz: the liberty of choosing a 



PART III 143 

House of Commons from out of their own body — and it is 
easy to see that when republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. 
Why is the constitution of England sickly but because mon- 
archy hath poisoned the republic, the Crown hath engrossed 
the Commons?" .... "In England a king hath little more to do 
than to make war and give away places; which, in plain 
terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it together by 

the ears." "A pretty business indeed for a 

man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year 
for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one 
honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the 
crowned ruffians that ever lived." Pages 12, 13, 14, 15 16, 
17 and 18. 

His third pamphlet embraces "Thoughts on the Present 
State of American Affairs." He says: 

"In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple 
facts, plain argimients, and common sense; and have no 
other preliminaries to settle with the reader, than that he 
will divest himself of prejudice and prepossession, and suffer 
his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves. Vol- 
umes have been written on the subject of the struggle be- 
tween England and America. Men of all ranks have em- 
barked in the controversy, from different motives, and with 
various designs: but all have been ineffectual, and the period 
of debate is closed. Arms, as a last resource, must decide 
the contest; the appeal was the choice of the King, and the 
continent hath accepted the challenge." .... "The sun 
never shone on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair 
of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom, but of a con- 
tinent — of at least one eighth part of the inhabitable globe. 
'Tis not the concern of a day, a year or an age; posterity 
are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or 
less affected even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. 
Now is the seed time of continental union, faith and honor. 
I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation, to show 
a single advantage that this continent can reap by being 
connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge: not 
a single advantage is derived. Our com will fetch its price 



144 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be 
paid for, buy them where we will. But in injuries and dis- 
advantages we sustain by that connection are without num- 
ber, and our duty to mankind at large, as well as to our- 
selves, instructs us to renounce the alliance; because any 
submission to or dependence on Great Britain tends directly 
to involve this continent in European wars and quarrels; 
and sets us at variance with nations who would otherwise 
seek our friendship, and against whom we have neither anger 
nor complaint. Everything that is right or natural pleads 
for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice 
of nature cries, His time to part. Even the distance at which 
the Almighty hath placed England and America is a strong 
and natural proof that the authority of the one over the 
other was never the design of heaven. 

"Though I would carefully avoid giving unnecessary- 
offense, yet I am inclined to believe, that all those who es- 
pouse the doctrine of reconciliation may be included within 
the following descriptions: 

"Interested men, who are not to be trusted; weak men 
who cannot see; prejudiced men, who will not see; and a cer- 
tain set of moderate men who think better of the European 
world than it deserves; and this last class, by an ill-judged 
deliberation, will be the cause of more calamities to this 
continent than all the other three. 

"It is the good fortune of many to live distant from 
the scene of sorrow; the evil is not sufficiently brought to 
their doors to make them feel the precariousness with which 
all American property is possessed. But let our imagina- 
tions transport us for a few moments to Boston; the seat of 
wretchedness will teach us wisdom, and instruct us forever 
to renounce a power in whom we can have no trust. The 
inhabitants of that unfortunate city, who but a few months 
ago were in ease and affluence, have now no other alterna- 
tive than to stay and starve, or turn out to beg. 

"Men of passive tempers look somewhat lightly over 
the offences of Britain, and still hoping for the best, are apt 
to call out. Come, come, we shall he friends again for all this. 



PART III • 145 

But examine the passions and feelings of mankind, bring the 
doctrine of reconciliation to the touch-stone of nature, and 
then tell me whether you can hereafter love, honor and faith- 
fully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword into 
your land? If you cannot do all these, then you are only 
deceiving yourselves, and by your delay bringing ruin upon 
your posterity. Your future connection with Britain, whom 
you can neither love nor honor, will be forced and unnatural, 
and being formed only on the plan of present convenience, 
will in a little time fall into a relapse more wretched than 
the first. But if you say you can still pass the violations 
over, then I ask. Hath your house been burnt? Hath your 
property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife 
and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live 
on? Have you lost a parent or child by their hands, and 
yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have 
not, then you are not a judge of those who have. But if 
you have, and can still shake hands with the murderers, 
then you are unworthy the name of husband, father, friend 
or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you 
have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant. 

"It is not in the power of Britain or of Europe to con- 
quer America, if she does not conquer herself by delay and 
timidity. The present winter is worth an age if rightly em- 
ployed, but, if lost or neglected, the whole continent will 
partake of the misfortune; and there is no punishment 
which that man will not deserve, be he who, or what, or 
where he will, that may be the means of sacrificing a season 
so precious and useful. 

"It is repugnant to reason, to the universal order of 
things, to all examples from former ages, to suppose that 
this continent can longer remain subject to any external 
power. The most sanguine in Britain does not think so. 
The utmost stretch of human wisdom cannot at this time, com- 
pass a plan short of separation, which can promise the continent 
even a year's security. Reconciliation is now a fallacious 
dream. Nature hath deserted the connection, and art can- 
not supply her place. For, as Milton wisely expresses, 



10 



146 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

'Never can true reconcilement grow, where wounds 
of deadly hate have pierced so deep.' 

"I am not induced by motives of pride, party or resent- 
ment to espouse the doctrine of separation and independence; 
I am, clearly, positively, and conscientiously persuaded that 
it is the truest interest of this continent to be so ; that every- 
thing short of that is mere patchwork; that it can afford no 
lasting felicity, that it is leaving the sword to our children, 
and shrinking back at a time, when a little more, a little 
further, would have rendered this continent the glory of the 
earth. 

"No man was a warmer wisher for reconciliation than 
myself before the fatal nineteenth of April, 1775 [massacre 
at Lexington], but the moment the event of that day was 
made known, I rejected the hardened, sullen-tempered Pha- 
raoh of England forever; and disdain the wretch, that with 
the pretended title of Father of his people, can unfeelingly 
hear of their slaughter, and composedly sleep with their 
blood upon his soul. 

"There are thousands and tens of thousands who would 
think it glorious to expel from the continent that barbarous 
and hellish power which hath stirred up the Indians and 
negroes to destroy us; the cruelty hath a double guilt; it is 
dealing brutally by us and treacherously by them. 

"O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not 
only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot 
of the old world is overrun with oppression." This is a 
very powerful appeal to the Colonies. 

In his fourth pamphlet of "Common Sense" he treats 
"Of the present ability of America, with some miscellaneous 
reflections." In discusing the "Separation of the American 
Colonies from Great Britain," he says (page 38): "I have 
never met a man, either in England or America, who hath 
not confessed his opinion that separation between the coun- 
tries would take place one time or other; and there is no 
instance in which we have shown less judgment, than in en- 
deavoring to describe what we call the ripeness or fitness of 
the continent for independence. 



PART III 147 

"As all men allow the measure, a separation, and vary- 
only in their opinion of the time, let us, in order to remove 
mistakes, take a general survey of things, and endeavor, if 
possible, to find out the very time. But we need not go far, 
the inquiry ceases at once, for the time hath found us. The 
general concurrence, the glorious union of all things proves 
the fact. 

"It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great 
strength lies." 

In this pamphlet he makes his first suggestion of a 
Declaration of Independence by the Colonies (pages 48 and 
49): "However strange it may appear to some, or however 
unwilling they may be to think so, matters not, but many 
strong and striking reasons may be given to show that noth- 
ing can settle our affairs so expeditiously as an open and 
determined declaration for independence. These proceedings 
may at first appear strange and difficult; but like all other 
steps which we have already passed over, will in a little 
time become familiar and agreeable. Until an independence 
is declared, the continent will feel itself like a man who con- 
tinues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, 
yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes 
it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its 
necessity." 

In his "Appendix" he discusses "The King's Speech" 
which had recently appeared in America, which was very 
bitter towards the Colonies. He says: "Since the publica- 
tion of the first edition of this pamphlet, or rather, on the 
same day on which it came out, the King's speech made its 
appearance in this city. Had the spirit of prophecy directed 
the birth of this production, it could not have brought it 
forth at a more seasonable juncture, or at a more necessary 
time. The bloody-mindedness of the one, shows the neces- 
sity of pursuing the doctrine of the other. Men ready by 
way of revenge: and the speech, instead of terrifying, pre- 
pared a way for the manly principles of independence. 

"Ceremony, and even silence, from whatever motives 
they may arise, have a hurtful tendency when they give the 



148 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

least degree of countenance to base and wicked performances; 
wherefore, if this maxim be admitted, it naturally follows, 
that the King's speech, as being a piece of finished villainy, 
deserved and still deserves a general execration, both by the 
Congress and the people. The speech, if it be called one, 
is nothing better than a willful, audacious libel against the 
truth, the common good, and the existence of mankind; and 
is a formal and pompous method of offering up human sacri- 
fices to the pride of tyrants. However, it matters very little 
now, what the King of England either says or does; he hath 
wickedly broken through every moral and human obligation, 
trampled nature and conscience beneath his feet; and by 
a steady and constitutional spirit of insolence and cruelty, 
procured for himself an universal hatred. It is now the in- 
terest of America to provide for herself. 

"The present state of America is truly alarming to every 
man who is capable of reflection. Without law, without 
government, without any other mode of power than what is 
founded on, and granted by, courtesy. Held together by an 
unexampled concurrence of sentiment, which is nevertheless 
subject to change, and which every secret enemy is endeavor- 
ing to dissolve. Our present condition is legislation without 
law; wisdom without a plan, a constitution without a name, 
and, what is strangely astonishing, perfect independence con- 
tending for dependence. The incidence is without a prece- 
dent; the case never existed before; and who can tell what 
may be the event? 

"The property of no man is secure in the present un- 
braced system of things. It is the violence which is done 
and threatened to our persons; the destruction of our prop- 
erty by an armed force; the invasion of our country by fire 
and sword, which conscientiously qualifies the use of arms; 
and the instant in which such a mode of defence became 
necessary, all subjection to Britain ought to have ceased; 
and the independence of America should have been considered 
as dating its era from, and published by, the first musket that 
was fired against her. 



PART III 149 

"There are reasons to so be given in support of inde- 
pendence which men should rather privately think of, than 
be publicly told of. We ought not to be debating whether 
we shall be independent or not, but anxious to accomplish 
it on a firm, secure and honorable basis, and uneasy rather, 
that it is not yet begun upon. Every day convinces us of 
its necessity. 

"In short, independence is the only bond that can tie 
and keep us together. We shall then see our object; and 
our ears shall be legally shut against the schemes of an 
intriguing, as well as a cruel enemy. 

"Wherefore, instead of gazing at each other, with sus- 
picious or doubtful curiosity, let each of us hold out to his 
neighbor the hearty hand of friendship, and unite in drawing 
a line, which, Hke an act of oblivion shall bury in forgetfulness 
every former dissension. Let the names of Whig and Tory 
be extinct ; and let none other be heard among us, than those 
of a good citizen, an open and resolute friend, and a virtuous 
supporter of the RIGHTS OF MANKIND, and of the FREE 
AND INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA." 

The last paragraph is a powerful appeal for friendship, 
even between the Whigs and the Tories, in order to have 
perfect unity of action in their approaching struggle for Inde- 
pendence. 

Mr. Paine, whose father was a Quaker, wrote an "Epis- 
tle to Quakers" who were actively assisting the King and 
his minions in making open and cruel war on the Americans, 
and at the same time, were censuring the Americans for 
defending themselves against the merciless attacks of Great 
Britain, because they said hearing arms was sinful. He says: 
"0 ye partial ministers of your own acknowledged principles! 
If the bearing of arms be sinful, the first going to war must 
be more so, by all the difference between wilful attack and 
unavoidable defence. Wherefore, if ye really preach from 
conscience, and mean not to make a political hobby-horse 
of your religion, convince the world thereof by proclaiming 
your doctrine to our enemies, for they likewise bear arms." 



150 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Other parts of his epistle are very severe on the Quakers for 
assisting the King to carry on the war. 

Here I shall likewise consider some of the pamphlets of 
"Common Sense," called "The Crisis": Paine wrote his 
first pamphlet, which he called "The Crisis," on the 23rd 
of December, 1776, about nine months after the battle of 
Lexington and something less than six months after the 
Declaration of Independence. General Washington had met 
with several reverses in battle, — his army was much depleted 
by being killed and wounded, by sickness and desertion. 
Those remaining true to the cause were very much discour- 
aged, poorly clothed, poorly fed and poorly paid. Mr. Paine, 
then in the army, recognized the necessity of doing some- 
thing to revive their drooping spirits, and to inspire more 
patriotism in the people generally. Thereupon he took up 
his pen again, by the camp-fire at night, when all were 
asleep around him, and commenced those immortal pamphlets 
known as "The Crisis" which he continued, at intervals, for 
five or six years, as the war progressed. It has frequently 
been said by the most distinguished patriots of those times, 
that had it not been for the efforts of Thomas Paine, at this 
critical juncture of affairs, America would never have achiev- 
ed her independence. 

These pamphlets were sixteen in number and embraced 
230 pages, consequently, I can only make extracts from 
them, but the reader should, by all means, read every page 
of them, in order to appreciate their strength and beauty. 
The First "Crisis" commences as follows: "These are the 
times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sun- 
shine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of 
his country, but he that stands it now, deserves the love and 
thanks of man and woman. Tyranny like hell, is not easily 
conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the 
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What 
we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'tis deamess only 
that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put 
a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange in- 
deed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be 



PART III 151 

highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, 
has declared that she has a right {not only to tax) but 'to 
hind us in all cases whatsoever,^ and if being bound in that 
manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as 
slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious, for so 
unlimited a power can belong only to God. 

"I have as little superstition in me as any man living, 
but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God 
Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, 
or leave them unsupported to perish, who have so earnestly 
and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by 
every decent method which wisdom could invent. Neither 
have I so much of the infidel in me, as to suppose that He 
has relinquished the government of the world, and given us 
up to the care of the devils; and as I do not, I cannot see 
on what grounds the king of Britain can look up to Heaven 
for help against us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or 
a house-breaker, has as good a pretence as he. 

"Why is it that the enemy have left the New England 
provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The 
answer is easy: New England is not infested with Tories, 
and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against 
these men, and used ntmiberless arguments to show them 
their danger, but it would not do to sacrifice a world to 
either their folly or their baseness. The period is now ar- 
rived, in which either they or we must change our senti- 
ments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? 
Good God! What is he? I should not be afraid to go with 
a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to 
attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for 
servile, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Tory- 
ism; and a man under such influence, though he be cruel, 
never can be brave. 

"Quitting this class of men, the Tories, I turn with the 
warm ardor of a friend to those who have nobly stood, and 
are yet determined to stand the matter out : I call not upon 
a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on 
every state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; 



152 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 



better have too much force than too little, when so great an 
object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world, that 
in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue 
could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one 
common danger, came forth to meet and repulse it. Say 
not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thou- 
sands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, 
but ^show your faith by your works,'' that God may bless you. 
"It matters not where you live, or what rank of life 
you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The 
far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich 
and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that 
feels not now, is dead: the blood of his children will curse 
his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might 
have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the 
man that can srnile in trouble, that can gather strength 
from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the busi- 
ness of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, 
and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his 
principles unto death. 

"My own line of reasoning is to myself as straight and 
clear as a ray of light. Not all the treasure of the world, 
so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an 
offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks 
into my house, bums and destroys my property, and kills 
or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and Ho hind 
me in all cases whatsoever,' to his absolute will, am I to suf- 
fer it? What signifies it to me, whether he who does it is a 
king or a common man; my countryman or not my coun- 
tryman; whether it be done by an individual villain, or an 
army of them? If we reason to the root of things, we shall 
find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned 
why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the 
other. Let them call me rebel, and welcome, I feel no con- 
cern from it. I conceive likewise a horrid idea in receiving 
mercy from a being, who at the last day shall be shrieking 
to the rocks and mountains to cover him, and fleeing with 



PART III 153 

terror from the orphan, the widow, and the slain of Amer- 
ica. I thank God that I fear not. I see no real cause for 
fear. I know our situation well, and can see the way out 
of it. While our army was collected, Howe dared not risk 
a battle, and it is no credit to him that he decamped from 
the White Plains, and waited a mean opportunity to ravage 
the defenceless Jerseys. 

"By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect 
of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad 
choice of a variety of evils: a ravaged country, a depopu- 
lated city, habitations without safety, and slavery without 
hope — our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses 
for Hessians, and a future race to provide for whose fathers 
we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! 
and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes 
it not, let him suffer it unlamented." 

December 23rd, 1776. 

The Second "Crisis" is dedicated "To Lord Howe" who 
was the Commander-in-chief of the British Army in America. 
He says: "As a military man your lordship may hold out 
the sword of war, and call it, 'the ultima ratio regum,' the 
last reason of kings. We in turn can show you the sword of 
justice, and call it, 'the best scourge of tyrants.' The first 
of these two may threaten, or even frighten for a while, and 
cast a sickly langor over an insulted people, but reason will 
soon recover the debauch, and restore them again to tranquil 
fortitude. You may issue your proclamations, and welcome, 
for we have learned to 'reverence ourselves' and scorn the 
insulting ruffian that employs you. 

" 'THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' will sound 
as pompously in the world or in history, as 'the Kingdom of 
Great Britain,' the character of General Washington will fill a 
page with as much lustre as that of Lord Howe. 

"The Quakers put forth a testimony, dated the 20th of 
December, signed, 'John Pemberton,' declaring their attach- 
ment to the British government. These men are continually 
harping on the great sin of our bearing arms, but the King 



154 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

of Britain may lay waste the worid in blood and famine, and 
they, poor fallen souls, have nothing to say. 

"Your avowed purpose here, is to kill, conquer, plunder, 
pardon and enslave: and the ravages of your army through 
the Jerseys have been marked with as much barbarism as if 
you had openly professed yourself the prince of ruffians ; not 
even the appearance of humanity has been preserved either 
on the march or the retreat of your troops; no general order 
that I could ever learn, has ever been issued to prevent or 
even forbid your troops from robbery, wherever they came; 
and the only instance of justice, if it can be called such, 
which has distinguished you from impartiality, is, that you 
treated and plundered all alike: what could not be carried 
away has been destroyed, and mahogany furniture has been 
deliberately laid on fire for fuel, rather than the men should 
be fatigued with cutting wood. 

"In a folio general-order book, belonging to Col. Rhol's 
battalion, taken at Trenton, and now in the possession of 
the council of safety for the state, the following barbarous 
order is frequently repeated: 'His excellency, the Commander- 
in-chief, orders that all inhabitants who shall be found 
with arms, not having an officer with them, shall be imme- 
diately taken and hung up.' How many you may thus have 
privately sacrificed, we know not, and the account can only 
be settled in another world. Your treatment of prisoners, 
in order to distress them to enlist in your infernal service, is 
not to be equalled by any instance in Europe." 

The third and fourth pamphlets of "The Crisis" dis- 
cuss all phases of the war; the ability of America to succeed 
if all the Colonies will unite in one grand effort for their in- 
dependence. "Independence was a doctrine scarce and rare, 
even towards the conclusion of the year 1775; all our politics 
had been founded on the hope or expectation of making the 
matter up — a hope which though general on the side of 
America, had never entered the head or heart of the British 
Court. Their hope was conquest and confiscation. Good 
Heavens! what volumes of thanks does America owe to 
Britain? What infinite obligation to the tool that fills with 



PART III 155 

paradoxical vacancy, the throne! Nothing but the sharpest 
essence of villainy, could have produced a menstruum that 
would have effected a separation." 

The Fifth "Crisis" is dedicated ''To General Sir William 
Howe, in command of the EngHsh Army in America. 
There is not in the compass of language a sufficiency of 
words to express the baseness of your king, his ministry and 
his army. They have refined upon villainy till it wants a 
name. To the fierce vices of former ages they have added 
the dregs and scummings of the most finished rascality, and 
are so completely sunk in serpentine deceit, that there is not 
left among them one generous enemy. 

'Trom such men and such masters may the gracious 
hand of Heaven preserve America! And though the suffer- 
ings she now endures are heavy and severe, they are like straws 
in the wind compared to the weight of evils she would feel 
under the government of your king, and his pensioned parlia- 
ment. 

"The time, sir, will come when you, in a melancholy 
hour, shall reckon up your miseries by your murders in 
America. Life, with you, begins to wear a clouded aspect. 
The vision of pleasurable delusion is wearing away, and 
changing to the barren wild of age and sorrow. The poor 
reflection of having served your king will yield you no con- 
solation in your parting moments. He will crumble to the 
same undistinguished ashes with yourself, and have sins 
enough of his own to answer for. It is not the farcical 
benedictions of a bishop, nor the cringing hypocrisy of a 
court of chaplains, nor the formality of an act of parliament, 
that can change guilt into innocence or make the punish- 
ment one pang the less. You may, perhaps, be unwilling to 
be serious, but this destruction of the goods of Providence, 
this havoc of the human race, and this sowing the world 
with mischief, must be accounted for to Him who made and 
governs it. To us they are only present sufferings, but to 
Him they are deep rebellions. 

"If there is a sin superior to every other, it is that of 
willful and offensive war. Most other sins are circumscribed 



156 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

with narrow limits, that is, the power of one man cannot 
give them a very general extension, and many kinds of sins 
have only a mental existence from which no infection arises; 
but he who is the author of a war, lets loose the whole con- 
tagion of hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to 
death. We leave it to England and Indians to boast of 
these honors; we feel no thirst for such savage glory; a no- 
bler flame; a purer spirit animates America. She hath 
taken up the sword of virtuous defence; she hath bravely put 
herself between T3rranny and Freedom, between a curse and 
a blessing, determined to expel the one and protect the 
other." 

Below I will copy Mr. Paine's "Address to Lord Howe," 
the bloody and cruel General Howe, who was in command of 
the British army in America, in order to illustrate the great 
versatility of talent of the author, as a writer, and to draw 
the attention of the reader to the peculiar aptitude of its 
composition to the vile object of his denunciation. But, in 
order to enable the reader to fully comprehend the fitness 
of the "Address," I will ask him to turn back a page or two, 
and again peruse what Mr. Paine says about Lord Howe in 
Nos. II and V of the "Crisis." I do not think I have ever 
read anything to compare with Paine's poetical "Address to 
Lord Howe." Its severe and merited satire; its indignant 
invective; its scathing denunciation of Lord Howe for the 
atrocities which he perpetrated on the Americans, and its 
vivid description of the sorrowful sufferings of those bereaved 
and defenceless people, has no parallel in the English lan- 
guage. 

ADDRESS TO LORD HOWE 
(Written at Philadelphia.) 

The rain pours down, the city looks forlorn, 
And gloomy subjects suit the howHng mom; 
Close by my fire, with door and window fast. 
And safely shelter'd from the driving blast, 
To gayer thoughts I bid a day's adieu. 
To spend a scene of solitude with you. 



PART III 157 

So oft has black revenge engross'd the care 
Of all the leisure hours man finds to spare; 
So oft has guilt, in all her thousand dens, 
Call'd for the vengeance of chastising pens. 
That while I fein would ease my heart on you, 
No thought is left untold, no passion new. 

From flight to flight the mental path appears, 
Worn with the steps of many thousand years. 
And fill'd throughout with every scene of pain. 
From George the murderer down to murderous Cain, 
Alike in cruelty, alike in hate, 
In guilt alike, but more alike in fate, 
Cursed supremely for the blood they drew, 
Each from the rising world, while each was new. 

Go, man of blood! true likeness of the first. 
And strew your blasted head with homely dust: 
In ashes sit — in wretched sackcloth weep, 
And with unpitied sorrows cease to sleep. 
Go haunt the tombs, and single out the place, 
Where earth itself shall suffer in disgrace. 

Go spell the letters on some mouldering urn. 
And ask if he who sleeps there can return; 
Go count the numbers that in silence lie, 
And learn by study what it is to die; 
For sure your heart, if any heart you own. 
Conceits that man expires without a groan; 
That he who lives receives from you a grace. 
Or death is nothing but a change of place: 
That peace is dull, that joy from sorrow springs, 
And war the most desirable of things. 

Else why these scenes that wound the feeling mind, 

This spot of death, this cockpit of mankind! 

Why sobs the widow in perpetual pain? 

Why cries the orphans? — "Oh! my father's slain!" 

Why hangs the sire his paralytic head, 

And nods with manly grief? — "My son is dead!" 

Why drops the tear from off the sister's cheek. 

And sweetly tells the pain that she would speak? 

Or why, in sorrow sunk, does pensive John 

To all the neighbors tell, "Poor master's gone!" 



158 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Oh! could I paint the passion that I feel, 
Or point a horror that would wound like steel, 
To thy unfeeling, unrelenting mind, 
I'd send destruction and reHeve mankind. 
You that are husbands, fathers, brothers, all 
The tender names which kindred learn to call; 
Yet like an image carved in massy stone. 
You bear the shape, but sentiment have none; 
Allied by dust and figure, not with mind, 
You only herd, but live not with mankind. 

Since then no hopes to civilize remain. 
And mild philosophy has preached in vain, 
One prayer is left, which dreads no proud reply, 
That he who made you breathe will make you die." 

Thomas Jefferson said of Mr. Paine's writings: "No 
writer exceeded Paine in familiarity of style, in perspicuity 
of expression; happiness in elucidation, and in simple and 
unassuming language." 

One of Paine's enemies criticised some of his writings, 
and spoke of him as a libeller to which he repHed, in "Rights 
of Man" (page 37 of "Rickman's Life of Paine"): "If to 
expose the fraud and imposition of monarchy, and every 
species of hereditary government; to lessen the oppression; 
to prepare plans for education of helpless infancy, and the 
comfortable support of the aged and distressed; to endeavor 
to concilitate nations to each other; to extirpate the horrid 
practice of war; to promote universal peace, civilization and 
commerce; to break the chains of political superstition, and 
raise degraded man to his proper rank: — ^if these things are 
libelous, let me live the life of a libeller, and let the name 
of Libeller be engraven on my tomb." 

His next pamphlet is addressed "To the inhabitants of 
America." He says: "With all the pleasure with which a 
man exchanges bad company for good, I take my leave of 
Sir William Howe, and return to you. It is now nearly 
three years since the tyranny of Britain received its first 
repulse by the arms of America. A period which has given 
birth to a new world, and erected a monument to the folly 
of the old. 



PART III 159 

"I cannot help being sometimes surprised at the com- 
plimentary references which I have seen and heard made to 
ancient histories and transactions. The wisdom, civil gov- 
ernments, and sense of honor of the states of Greece and 
Rome, are frequently held up as objects of excellence and 
imitation. Mankind have lived to very little purpose, if, at 
this period of the world, they must go two or three thousand 
years back for lessons and examples. We do great injustice 
to ourselves by placing them in such a superior line; we 
have no just authority for it, neither can we tell why it is 
that we should suppose ourselves inferior. Could the mist 
of antiquity be cleared away, and men and things be viewed 
as they really are, it is more than probable that they would 
admire us, rather than we them. America has surmounted 
a greater variety and combination of difficulties, than, I 
believe, ever fell to the share of any one people, in the same 
space of time, and has replenished the world with more use- 
ful knowledge and sounder maxims of civil government than 
were ever produced in any age before. Had it not been for 
America, there had been no such thing as freedom left 
throughout the whole universe. England hath lost hers in a 
long chain of right reasoning from wrong principles, and it is 
from this country, now, that she must learn the resolution 
to redress herself, and the wisdom how to accompHsh it. 

''The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of 
the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time 
that they were determined not to be slaves themselves, they 
employed their power to enslave the rest of mankind. But 
this distinguished era is blotted by no one misanthropical 
vice. 

"In short, if the principle on which the cause is founded, 
the universal blessings that are to arise from it, the diffi- 
culties that accompanied it, the wisdom with which it has 
been debated, the fortitude by which it has been supported, 
the strength of the power which we had to oppose, and the 
condition in which we undertook it, be all taken in one view, 
we may justly style it the most virtuous and illustrious 
revolution that ever graced the history of mankind. 



160 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"A good opinion of ourselves is exceedingly necessary 
in private life, but absolutely necessary in public life, and of 
the utmost importance in supporting national character. I 
have no notion of yielding the palm of the United States to 
any Grecians or Romans that were ever bom. We have 
equalled the bravest in times of danger, and excelled the 
wisest in the construction of civil governments. 

"The only way to finish a war with the least possible 
bloodshed, or perhaps without any, is to collect an army, 
against the power of which, the enemy shall have no chance. 
By not doing this, we prolong the war, and double both the 
calamities and the expenses of it. What a rich and happy 
country would America be, were she, by a vigorous exertion, 
to reduce Howe as she has reduced Burgoyne. Her currency 
would rise to millions beyond its present value. Every man 
would be rich, and every man would have it in his power 
to be happy. And why not do these things? What is there 
to hinder?" 

His Sixth "Crisis" is directed "To the Earl of Carlisle, 
General Clinton and William Eden, Esq., British Commis- 
sioners at New York." They were sent over to make some 
kind of a rascally peace with the Americans. Paine com- 
mences as follows: "There is a dignity in the warm passions 
of a Whig, which is never to be found in the cold malice of 
a Tory. In the one, nature is only heated — in the other she 
is poisoned. The instant the former has it in his power to 
punish, he feels a disposition to forgive, but the canine 
venom of the latter knows no relief but revenge. This gen- 
eral distinction will, I believe, apply in all cases, and suit 
as well the meridian of England as America. 

"Like men in a state of intoxication, you forget that 
the rest of the world have eyes, and that the same stupidity 
which conceals you from yourselves exposes you to their 
satire and contempt. 

"We are invited to submit to a man who has attempted 
by every cruelty to destroy us, and to join him in making 
war against France, who is already against him for our sup- 
port. 



PART III 161 

''Can Bedlam, in concert with Lucifer, form a more 
mad and devilish request? Were it possible a people could 
sink into such apostacy they would deserve to be swept 
from the earth like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
The proposition is an universal affront to the rank which 
man holds in the creation, and an indignity to Him who 
placed him there. It supposes him made up without a 
spark of honor, and under no obligation to God or man. 

"What sort of men or Christians must you suppose 
the Americans to be, who, after seeing their most himible 
petitions insultingly rejected — the most grievous laws passed 
to distress them in every quarter — an undeclared war let 
loose upon them, and Indians and Negroes invited to the 
slaughter — who, after seeing their kinsmen murdered, their 
fellow-citizens starved to death in prisons, and their houses 
and property destroyed and burned, — who, after the most 
serious appeals to heaven, the most solemn abjuration by 
oath of all government connected with you, and the most 
heart -felt pledges and protestation of faith to each other — 
and who, after soliciting the friendship, and entering into 
alliances with other nations, should at last break through all 
these obligations, civil and divine, by complying with your 
horrid and infernal proposal? 

"You may plan and execute little mischiefs, but are 
they worth the expense they cost you, or will such partial 
evils have any effect on the general cause? Your expedition 
to Egg Harbor, will be felt at a distance like an attack upon 
a hen-roost, and expose you in Europe, with a sort of child- 
ish frenzy. Is it worth while to keep an army to protect 
you in writing proclamations, or to get once a year into 
winter-quarters ? ' ' 

His Seventh "Crisis" is addressed "To the people of 
England." He fully discusses the futility of their trying to 
conquer America, and gives many reasons for it. He cites 
many instances of detriment to their interest by continuing 
the war (pages 188 and 189) : "War never can be the inter- 
est of a trading nation, any more than quarreling can be 
profitable to a man in business. But to make war with 



11 



162 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

those who trade with us, is Hke setting a bull-dog upon a 
customer at the shop-door. The least degree of common 
sense shows the madness of the latter, and it will apply 
with the same force of conviction to the former. 

"In whatever light the war with America is considered 
upon commercial principles, it is evidently the interest of 
the people of England not to support it; and why it has 
been supported so long, against the clearest demonstrations 
of truth, and national advantage, is to me, and must be to 
all the reasonable world, a matter of astonishment." 

His Eighth "Crisis" is likewise addressed "To the people 
of England." He very fully discusses the speech of the 
King of England. It commences as follows: 

" 'Trusting (says the King of England in his speech 
of November last) in the divine Providence, and in the jus- 
tice of my cause, I am firmly resolved to prosecute the war 
with vigor, and to make every exertion in order to compel 
our enemies to equitable terms of peace and accommoda- 
tion.' To this declaration the United States of America, 
and the confederated powers of Europe will reply, if Britain 
will have war, she shall have enough of it. 

"Five years have nearly elapsed since the commence- 
ment of hostilities, and every campaign, by a gradual decay, 
has lessened your ability to conquer, without producing a 
serious thought on your condition or your fate. Like a 
prodigal lingering in an habitual consumption, you feel the 
relics of life, and mistake them for recovery. New schemes, 
like new medicines, have administered fresh hopes, and pro- 
longed the disease instead of curing it. A change of generals, 
like a change of physicians, served only to keep the flattery 
alive, and furnish new pretences for new extravagance. 

"This makes the second paper, addressed perhaps in 
vain, to the people of England. That advice should be tak- 
en wherever example has failed, or precept be regarded where 
warning is ridiculed, is like a picture of hope resting on de- 
spair; but when time shall stamp with universal currency, 
the facts you have long encountered with a laugh, and the 
irresistible evidence of accumulated losses like the hand- 



PART III 163 

writing on the wall, shall add terror to distress, you will 
then, in a conflict of sufferings, learn to sympathize with 
others by feeling for yourselves. 

"Hitherto you have experienced the expenses, but noth- 
ing of the miseries of war. Your disappointments have been 
accompanied with no immediate suffering, and your losses 
came to you only by intelligence. Like fire at a distance, 
your heard not even the cry; you felt not the danger, you 
saw not the confusion. To you everything has been foreign 
but the taxes to support it. You knew not what it was to 
be alarmed at midnight with an armed enemy in the streets. 
You were strangers to the distressing scene of a family in 
flight, and to the thousand restless cares and tender sorrows 
that incessantly arose. To see women and children wander- 
ing in the severity of winter, with the broken remains of a 
well-furnished house, and seeking shelter in every crib and 
hut, were matters you had no conception of. You knew 
not what it was to stand by and see your goods chopped for 
fuel, and your beds ripped to pieces to make packages for 
plunder. The misery of others, like a tempestuous night, 
added to the pleasures of your own security." 

He commences his Ninth "Crisis" as follows: "Had 
America pursued her advantages with half the spirit that 
she resisted her misfortunes, she would, before now, have 
been a conquering and a peaceful people; but lulled in the 
lap of soft tranquillity, she rested on her hopes, and adver- 
sity only has convulsed her into action. Whether subtlety 
or insincerity, at the close of the last year, induced the ene- 
my to an appearance for peace, is a point not material to 
know; it is sufficient that we see the effects it has had on 
our politics, and that we sternly rise to resent the delusion. 

"At a crisis, big, like the present, with expectation and 
events, the whole country is called to unanimity and exer- 
tion. Not an ability ought now to sleep that can produce 
but a mite to the general good, nor even a whisper to pass 
that militates against it. The necessity of the case and the 
importance of the consequences, admit no delay from a 
friend — no apology from an enemy. To spare now, would 



164 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

be the height of extravagance, and to consult present ease, 
would be to sacrifice it, perhaps forever." 

In his Tenth "Crisis" he writes "On the Subject of 
Taxation," and very fully discusses it in all of its bearings. 
He takes up the enormous cost of the war to England, and 
compares it to the small cost to America, in which he em- 
ploys a large nimiber of figures to elucidate the comparison. 
He then discusses how the money can be raised by the 
Americans for carrying on the war, and how it should be 
proportioned among the Colonies, showing that it would not 
be burdensome to any one of them. 

His Eleventh "Crisis" is "On the King of England's 
Speech." He says: "Although the situation of America, 
superior to every effort to enslave her, and daily rising to 
importance and opulence, hath placed herself above the re- 
gion of anxiety, it has still left her within the circle of curi- 
osity; and her fancy to see the speech of a man who had 
proudly threatened to bring her to his feet, was visibly 
marked with that tranquil confidence which cared nothing 
about its contents. It was inquired after with a smile, read 
with a laugh, and dismissed with disdain. 

"How easy it is to abuse truth and language, when men, 
by habitual wickedness, have learned to set justice at defi- 
ance. That the very man who began the war, who with the 
most sullen insolence refused to answer, and even to hear 
the himiblest of all petitions; who hath encouraged his offi- 
cers and his army in the most savage cruelties, and the 
most scandalous plunderings, who hath stirred up the Indians 
on one side, and the Negroes on the other, and invoked 
every aid of hell in his behalf, should now, with an affected 
air of pity, turn the tables from himself, and charge to 
another the wickedness that is his own, can only be equalled 
by the baseness of the heart that spoke it. 

"TO BE NOBLY WRONG IS MORE MANLY THAN 
TO BE MEANLY RIGHT," is an expression I once used 
on a former occasion, and it is equally applicable now. We 
feel something like respect for consistency even in error. 
We lament the virtue that is debauched into vice, but the 



PART in 165 

vice that affects a virtue becomes the more detestable; and 
amongst the various assumptions of character which hypoc- 
risy has taught and men have practiced, there is none that 
raises a higher relish of disgust, than to see disappointed 
inveteracy twisting itself, by the most visible falsehoods, into 
an appearance of piety it has not pretensions to." 

He then discusses the sufferings of the past as follows: 
"What are the little sufferings of the present day, compared 
with the hardships that are past. There was a time, when 
we had neither house nor home in safety; when every hour 
was the hour of alarm and danger; when the mind, tortured 
with anxiety, knew no repose, and every thing but hope and 
fortitude, was bidding us farewell." 

His Fifteenth "Crisis" is very beautiful and very cheer- 
ing to the Americans, as their independence had been about 
achieved. It was written on April 19th, 1783, and begins 
as follows: "The times that tried men's souls, are over, and 
the greatest and completest revolution the world ever knew, 
is gloriously and happily accomplished. 

"But to pass from the extremes of danger to safety — 
from the tumult of war to the tranquillity of peace, though 
sweet in contemplation, requires a gradual composure of the 
senses to receive it. Even calmness has the power of stun- 
ning, when it opens too instantly upon us. The long and 
raging hurricane that should cease in a moment, would leave 
us in a state rather of wonder than enjoyment; and some 
moments of recollection must pass, before we could be capa- 
ble of tasting the felicity of repose. There are but few in- 
stances, in which the mind is fitted for sudden transitions: 
it takes in its pleasures by reflection and comparison, and 
those must have time to act, before the relish for new scenes 
is complete. 

"In the present case, the mighty magnitude of the 
object, the various uncertainties of fate it has undergone, 
the numerous and complicated dangers we have suffered or 
escaped, the eminence we now stand on, and the vast pros- 
pect before us, must all conspire to impress us with contem- 
plation. 



166 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"To see it in our power to make a world happy, to 
teach mankind the art of being so, to exhibit, on the theatre 
of the universe, a character hitherto unknown, and to have, 
as it were, a new creation intrusted to our hands, are honors 
that command reflection, and can neither be too highly esti- 
mated, nor too gratefiilly received. 

"In this pause then of recollection — while the storm 
is ceasing, and the long agitated mind vibrating to a rest; 
let us look back on the scenes we have passed, and learn 
from experience what is yet to be done. 

"Never, I say, had a country so many openings to happi- 
ness as this. Her setting out in life, like the rising of a 
fair morning, was unclouded and promising. Her cause was 
good. Her principles just and liberal. Her temper serene 
and firm. Her conduct regulated by the nicest steps, and 
every thing about her wore the mark of honor. It is not 
every country (perhaps there is not another in the world) 
that can boast so fair an origin. Even the first settlement 
of America corresponds with the character of the Revolution. 
Rome, once the proud mistress of the universe, was origi- 
nally a band of rufiians. Plunder and rapine made her rich, 
and her oppression of millions made her great. But America 
need never be ashamed to tell her birth, nor relate the 
stages by which she rose to empire. 

"The remembrance, then, of what is past, if it operates 
rightly, must inspire her with the most laudable of all ambi- 
tion, that of adding to the fair fame she began with. The 
world has seen her great in adversity. Struggling, without 
a thought of yielding, beneath accumulated difficulties. 
Bravely, nay proudly, encountering distress, and rising in 
resolution as the storm increased. All this is justly due to 
her, for her fortitude has merited the character. Let then, 
the world see that she can bear prosperity; and that her 
honest virtue in time of peace, is equal to the bravest virtue 
in time of war. 

"Character is much easier kept than recovered, and that 
man, if any such there be, who, from sinister views, or little- 



PART III 167 

ness of soul, lends unseen his hand, to injure it, contrives a 
wound it will never be in his power to heal. 

"If in the course of more than seven years, I have 
rendered her any service, I have likewise added something 
to the reputation of literature by freely and disinterestedly 
employing it in the great cause of mankind, and showing 
that there may be genius without prostitution. 

"Independence always appeared to me practicable and 
probable, provided the sentiment of the country could be 
formed and held to the object, and there is no instance in 
the world where a people so extended, and wedded to former 
habits of thinking, and under such a variety of circumstances 
were so instantly and effectually pervaded by a turn in 
politics, as in the case of independence, and who supported 
their opinion, undiminished, through such a succession of 
good and ill fortune, till they crowned it with success. 

"But as the scenes of war are closed, and every man 
preparing for home and happier times, I therefore take my 
leave of the subject. I have most sincerely followed it from 
beginning to end, and through all its turns and windings: 
and whatever country I may hereafter be in, I shall always 
feel an honest pride at the part I have taken and acted, and 
a gratitude to Nature and Providence for putting it in my 
power to be of some use to mankind." 

His Sixteenth and last "Crisis" is addressed "To the 
People of America." He warns the Americans to beware 
of the hypocrisy and wiles of England in relation to commer- 
cial intercourse between the two countries. He impresses it 
upon them that all the States should stand loyally together: 

"But it is only by acting in union, that the usurpations of 
foreign nations on the freedom of trade can be counteracted, 
and security extended to the commerce of America. And 
when we view a flag, which to the eye is beautiful, and to 
contemplate its rise and origin inspires a sensation of sub- 
lime delight, our national honor must unite with our interests 
to prevent injury to the one, or insult to the other." (Page 
300.) 



168 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Mr. Paine then addresses what he calls a Letter to the 
Abbe Raynal, of seventy pages. His introduction to the 
Letter commences as follows: "A London translation of an 
original work in French by the Abbe Raynal, which treats 
of the revolution of North America, having been re-printed 
in Philadelphia and other parts of the continent, and as the 
distance at which the Abbe is placed from the American 
theatre of war and politics, has occasioned him to mistake 
several facts, or misconceive the causes or principles by 
which they were produced, the following tract, therefore, is 
published with a view to rectify and prevent even accidental 
errors from intermixing with history, under the sanction of 
time and silence." 

It appears from Mr. Paine's letter to the Abbe that 
he had made a great many mistakes in commenting upon 
the American Revolution, which did our people much in- 
justice; all of which Mr. Paine corrects. Speaking of the 
American war, he says: "Neither the foul finger of disgrace 
nor the bloody hand of vengeance has hitherto put a blot 
upon her fame. Her victories have received lustre from a 
greatness of lenity; and her laws have been permitted to 
slumber, where they might justly have awakened to punish. 
War, so much the trade of the world, has been only the 
business of necessity; and when the necessity shall cease, her 
very enemies must confess, that as she drew the sword in her 
just defence, she used it without cruelty and sheathed it 
without revenge." The entire letter is well worth reading, 

Paine then wrote his "Rights of Man" in reply to 
"Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution." It em- 
braces 270 pages, and is a masterly piece of literature. It 
was written after the American Revolution, and is said by 
able critics to be the best effort of his literary life. It was 
chef d' oeuvre in politics. History says "Although 'Burke's 
Reflections' was very popular in the beginning, it stood no 
chance against Paine's reply, 'Rights of Man.' When a 
thousand copies were sold of the former, ten thousand were 
sold of the latter." 



PART III 169 

Mr. Paine in the beginning of his ''Rights of Man," in 
reply to "Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution," 
says: 

"Among the incivilities by which nations or individuals 
provoke and irritate each other, Mr. Burke's pamphlet on 
the French Revolution is an extraordinary instance. Neither 
the people of France nor the National Assembly, were troub- 
ling themselves about the affairs of England, or the English 
Parliament; and that Mr. Burke should commence an im- 
provoked attack upon them, both in Parliament and in pub- 
lic, is a conduct that cannot be pardoned on the score of 
manners, nor justified on that of policy. 

"There is scarcely an epithet of abuse to be found in 
the English language, with which Mr. Burke has not loaded 
the French nation and the National Assembly. Everything 
which rancor, prejudice, ignorance, or knowledge could sug- 
gest, are poured forth in the copious fury of near four hun- 
dred pages. In the strain and on the plan Mr. Burke was 
writing, he might have written on to as many thousands. 
When the tongue or the pen is let loose in a frenzy of pas- 
sion, it is the man and not the subject that becomes ex- 
hausted. 

"It was not against Louis XVI, but against the despotic 
principles of the Government, that the nation revolted. 
These principles had not their origin in him, but in the origi- 
nal establishment, many centuries back; and they were be- 
come too deeply rooted to be removed, and the Augean 
stable of parasites and plunderers too abominably filthy to 
be cleansed, by anything short of a complete and universal 
revolution. When it becomes necessary to do a thing, the 
whole heart and soul should go into the measure, or not 
attempt it. That crisis was then arrived, and there remained 
no choice but to act with determined vigor, or not to act 
at all. 

"I cannot consider Mr. Burke's book in scarcely any 
other light than a dramatic performance; and he must, I 
think, have considered it in the same light himself, by the 



170 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

poetical liberties he has taken of omitting some facts, dis- 
torting others, and making the machinery bend to produce 
a stage effect. Of this kind is his account of the expedition 
to Versailles. He begins this account by omitting the only 
facts which, as causes, are known to be true; ever3rthing be- 
yond these is conjecture, even in Paris, and he then works 
up a tale accommodated to his own passions and prejudices." 

Mr. Burke was the ablest speaker and writer in the 
English Parliament. At one time he was a strong advocate 
of political freedom, and was a staunch friend of the Ameri- 
can Colonies. Afterwards he changed his tactics, which 
Paine attributed to undue influence over him by the English 
Government, in the way of giving him and his wife a pen- 
sion for life, which was not generally known, but it was 
unearthed by Paine. I have copied rather freely from the 
writings of Mr. Paine, in order to show my readers "what 
manner of man" he was; and also to enable them to com- 
pare the writings of Junius with those of Paine, both of 
whom I regard as the same person. 

Inasmuch as "Preparedness" is the all-absorbing topic 
of discussion both in and out of Congress, at the present 
time (March, 1916), I will recite parts of what Thomas Paine 
said on this and kindred subjects, over one hundred years 
ago. In the first place, he was a great advocate of having 
a Peace Congress, for the arbitration of all differences be- 
tween nation and nation. On this subject he said: "It is 
attributed to Henry IV of France, a man of enlarged and 
benevolent heart, that he proposed about 1610, a plan of 
abolishing war in Europe. The plan consisted in constitut- 
ing an European Congress, or, as the French authors would 
style it, a Pacific Republic, by appointing delegates from the 
several nations, who were to act as a Court of Arbitration 
in any dispute that might arise between nation and nation." 
See page 132, "Political and Miscellaneous Works of Thomas 
Paine." On page 267 he further says: "It is, I think, quite 
certain, that if the fieets of England, France, and Holland 
were confederated, they could propose, with effect, a limi- 



PART III 171 

tation to, and a general dismantling of, all the navies in 
Europe, to a certain proportion to be agreed upon. 

"First, that no new ship of war shall be built by any 
power in Europe, themselves included. 

"Secondly, that all the navies now in existence shall be 
put back, suppose to one tenth of their present force. This 
will save to France and England at least two millions annu- 
ally to each, and their relative force be in the same propor- 
tion as it is now. If men will permit themselves to think, 
as rational beings ought to think, nothing can appear more 
ridiculous and absurd, exclusive of all moral reflections, than 
to be at the expense of building navies, filling them with 
men, and then hauling them into the ocean, to try which 
can sink each other fastest. Peace, which costs nothing, 
is attended with infinitely more advantage than any victory 
with all its expense. But this, though it best answers the 
purpose of nations, does not that of Court Governments, 
whose habitual policy is pretence for taxation, places, and 
offices." On page 267 he says: "A gun-boat, carrying 
heavy metal, is a movable fortification, and there is no mode 
or system of defense the United States can go into for coasts 
and harbors or ports, that will be so effectual as by gun- 
boats. 

"Ships of the line are no ways fitted for the defense 
of a coast. They are too bulky to act in narrow waters, 
and cannot act at all in shoal waters. Like a whale, they 
must be in deep waters, and at a distance from land." He 
says, besides: "Gun-boats can be built for one-fiftieth 
part of the cost of gun-ships." 

I have only quoted short extracts from the above pro- 
ductions, which are quite lengthy. ("Poetical and Miscella- 
neous Works of Thomas Paine.") 

I coincide with Mr. Paine in his wise suggestions, with 
some modifications to harmonize with the many develop- 
ments in Militarism, since he wrote, over one hundred years 
ago: In his proposition to inaugurate a Peace Congress of 
all enlightened nations to arbitrate material differences 



172 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

between nation and nation; but I would suggest that a pro- 
vision be made in the compact to compel any refractory 
nation to abide by the decision of the Arbitration Board, 
and in order to enforce its decision, that all of the other 
nations in the Peace Congress should obligate themselves to 
contribute their pro rata share in money, ships and men, 
according to the population of each, in order to enforce the 
decision of the Board against any of the nations refusing to 
obey the same. 

As to his suggestion for defending oiir sea coasts against 
the incursions of an enemy, by using gun-boats instead of 
battle-ships, I think it was very wise at the time, for the 
reasons stated by him; but, as the submarine has been in- 
vented since that time, I will venture to suggest that, instead 
of increasing the number of our battle-ships, we should 
build and equip a reasonable ntunber of submarines to be 
scattered along our entire coast, at important points, which, 
with our present navy, would be sufficient to repel the at- 
tacks of any nation or nations which might have the temer- 
ity to make war upon us. I do not coincide with our au- 
thorities that it is necessary or wise to expend the immense 
amount of money suggested in building a very much greater 
number of battle-ships than we already have. This course 
of procedure might have had some plausibility in it ten 
years ago, when almost every nation was "armed to the 
teeth" and flushed with money, and could have given us 
very considerable trouble, if they had been so disposed. 
But owing to the gigantic war now pending between all of 
the most powerful nations of Europe, they have become 
already, so very much depleted in their financial matters, 
as well as in men for their armies, and in all other 
material resources, that they will be almost impotent to 
wage a war against the United States which will be in ad- 
mirable plight to resist any attacks which might be made 
against us; especially if our land forces were augmented by 
each State increasing its militia and putting them in train- 
ing, so they woiild be ready for any emergency which might 
arise. In my opinion, all those nations which are now at 



PART III 173 

war with each other, including those which may be drawn 
into the conflict, will have all they can possibly do to defend 
themselves at home for the next fifty years, and will have 
no time or inclination to "pick a fuss" with us. 

In addition to the foregoing preparation for defence, we 
could mine our principal harbors, if necessary, and build a 
reasonable number of war-planes, which would put us in a 
state of perfect "Preparedness." I am curious to know 
what will be thought of the above suggestions twenty-five 
years hence. 

We could implicitly rely upon the patriotism and valor 
of our people to volunteer, if necessary, if ever we have a 
"Call to arms" for the defense of our beloved country, with- 
out maintaining a large and very expensive standing army. 

Having copied a number of the writings of Junius and 
of Paine, I will invite my readers to make a comparison of 
the styles of their compositions, which I think they will con- 
clude are very similar to each other: in fact, identical. 
Style in writing, is an inherent peculiarity in each prominent 
author, and is almost as easily recognized as the features of 
his face. Take, for instance, the poems and letters of Bums, 
Byron and Moore, and the novels of Dickens, Scott and 
Thackeray, and you will find no similarity among them. 
Each has his own individuality. Then compare the writings 
of Junius and Paine, and you will perceive the same identi- 
cal features of style in both. In the first place, both are 
singularly epigrammatic, with well-rounded periods. The 
sentences are mostly of uniform length, very euphonious and 
rhythmic in their sound, to the reader. Their facts are 
concisely grouped together, their argiunents are logical. 
Their antitheses are frequent. Their comparisons are lucid. 
Their syllogisms are perfectly formed. Their sarcasms are 
keen. Their irony is bitter. Their ridicule is overpowering. 
Their metaphors are brilliant; and they have the same pro- 
pensity for putting searching interrogations to their adver- 
saries. Both are fearless, aggressive and courageous writers- 
All of these kindred features in their styles of writing, go to 



174 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

prove that the authors were one and the same person. Fur- 
thermore, style may be said to be the garments with which 
we clothe our ideas, or thoughts, as we give utterance to 
them. There are as many different styles of composition, as 
styles in dressing. Many authors are as easily detected in 
their style of writing, as in their style of dressing. There- 
fore, we may say that a fine style of composition is the pro- 
duction of an expert literary tailor; and a poor style is made 
by a "botch." Peculiarities of style originate in the mind, 
and are nature's work. Consequently, when the same person 
gives utterance to ideas and thoughts on two different sub- 
jects, similar in their nature, he uses similar modes of expres- 
sion, which are easily recognized by the structure of his sen- 
tences. So it is with the author of the "Junius Letters" 
and the author of "Common Sense." Their subjects were 
of a closely kindred nature, and many of the facts and cir- 
cumstances were of a similar character. Consequently, the 
arguments used on both subjects were more or less alike. 
As they resemble each other so very closely, I conclude that 
they were written by the same identical author. I have 
before said, the facts going to prove the identity of Junius 
are very few, he being wholly unknown, therefore, we must 
resort to pertinent, logical arguments, in addition to surround- 
ing circumstances, such as style, friendships and animosities, 
kindred subjects, their aims and objects. No doubt Paine 
avoided using any quotations from, or sentences similar to, 
any in the Junius Letters, because he well knew that if he 
did, he would at once be spotted as Junius, by the officers 
of the English army, then in America, or by the English 
police force then in nearly all the American cities. Junius, 
in one of his letters said that the English Government had 
at that time, spent over 6,000 pounds trying to apprehend 
him; so that had he been found out in America, he would 
have been arrested and sent to England, where he would 
have been severely punished, and probably been confined in 
the London Tower indefinitely. 

The style of Paine in his "Common Sense" and his 
"Crisis" pamphlets is identical with that of the Junius 



PART III 175 

Letters, and was written on almost precisely the same sub- 
jects. He was against the English monarchical form of Gov- 
ernment, its venal Ministry, and its corrupt Parliament, 
which were then doing all in their power to oppress and en- 
slave the American Colonies, through their army and navy; 
murdering the people, and laying waste the country, towns 
and cities of America. 

After Independence was won, and a firm and glorious 
Government had been established by the "United States of 
America," there was concocted a very formidable and insidi- 
ous party, known as "The Federal Party," with John Adams 
advocating an Hereditary Monarchy, similar to that of 
Great Britain, and Alexander Hamilton advocating a Senate 
for life, besides, a large niunber of very influential men 
working along the same lines (see pp. 226, 227, etc., of 
Paine's "Political and Miscellaneous Works"), which party, 
and its policies, Paine fought most vigorously. He further 
says: "John Jay has said that the Senate should have been 
appointed for life. He would then have been sure of never 
wanting a lucrative appointment for himself, and have had 
no fears about impeachment. These [Jay, Adams and Ham- 
ilton] are the disguised traitors that call themselves Feder- 
alists. If Mr. Jay desires to know on what authority I say 
this, I will give that authority publicly when he chooses 
to call for it. ("Poetical and Miscellaneous Works of Thomas 
Paine," p. 159.) 

After his return from France, Mr. Paine wrote ten let- 
ters to "The Citizens of the United States," commencing 
on page 211, in the "Poetical and Miscellaneous Works of 
Thomas Paine." His object was to warn them against the 
wiles of the Federal Party, and for defeating the Federalists, 
headed by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, in their 
wicked attempt to overthrow the Government of the United 
States, and establish a Limited Monarchy in its stead, in 
which he succeeded, with the help of other loyal patriots. 

These powerful letters very much resemble the Junius 
Letters. On page 218 he says of ex-President Adams: 



176 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

"John Adams is a man of paradoxical heresies, and conse- 
quently of a bewildered mind. He wrote a book entitled 
'A Defense of the American Constitutions,' and the principles 
of it are an attack upon them. But the book is descended 
to the tomb of forgetfulness, and the best fortune that can 
attend its author is quietly to follow its fate. John was 
not bom for immortality. But, to return to Federalism. 

"I have had doubts of John Adams ever since the year 
1776. In a conversation with me at that time, concerning 
the pamphlet 'Common Sense,' he censured it because it 
attacked the English form of government. John was for inde- 
pendence because he expected to be made great by it; but 
it was not difficult to perceive, for the surliness of his temper 
makes him an awkward hypocrite, that his head was full 
of kings, queens, and knaves, as a pack of cards. But John 
has lost deal. Knowing as I do, the consummate vanity of 
John Adams, and the shallowness of his judgment, I can 
easily picture to myself that when he arrived at the Federal 
city, he was strutting in the pomp of his imagination before 
the Presidential house, or in the audience hall, and exulting 
in the language of Nebuchadnezzar: 'Is not this great Baby- 
lon that I have built for the honor of my majesty.' But in 
that unfortunate hour, or soon after, John, like Nebuchad- 
nezzar, was driven from among men, and fled with the speed 
of a post-horse. 

"But to return to federalism and apostacy. The plan 
of the leaders of the faction was to overthrow the liberties 
of the new world, and place government on the corrupt sys- 
tem of the old. They wanted to hold their power by a more 
lasting tenure than the choice of their constituents. It is 
impossible to account for their conduct and the measures 
they adopted on any other ground. But to accomplish 
that object, a standing army and a prodigal revenue must 
be raised; and to obtain these, pretenses must be invented 
to deceive. Alarms of dangers that did not exist even in 
imagination, but in the direct spirit of lying, were spread 
abroad. Apostacy stalked through the land in the garb of 



PART III 177 

patriotism, and the torch of treason blinded for a while the 
flame of liberty. 

"To elect and to reject, is the prerogative of a free peo- 
ple. Since the estabHshment of independence, no period has 
arrived that so decidedly proves the excellence of the represen- 
tative system of government, and its superiority over every 
other, as the time we now live in. Had America been cursed 
with John Adams's hereditary monarchy, or Alexander Hamil- 
ton's senate for life, she must have sought, in the doubtful 
contest of civil war, what she now obtains by the expression 
of public will. An appeal to elections decides better than 
an appeal to the sword. 

"The reign of terror that raged in America during the 
latter end of the Washington administration, and the whole 
of that of Adams, is enveloped in mystery to me. That 
there were men in the government hostile to the representa- 
tive system, though it is now their overthrow, was once 
their boast, and therefore the fact is established against them. 

"The object therefore, must be something at home, and 
that something was the overthrow of the representative sys- 
tem of government, for it could be nothing else. But the 
plotters got into confusion and became enemies to each 
other. Adams hated and was jealous of Hamilton, and 
Hamilton hated and despised both Adams and Washington." 

Mr. Paine wrote a large number of other literary and 
scientific articles and letters, embracing two or three hundred 
pages, which are too numerous to mention. 

As to the handwriting of Mr. Paine, I have not been 
able to get hold of any, to compare with that of Junius. 
As Paine wrote his "Common Sense" and some of the "Cri- 
sis," by camp-fire at night, it is very reasonable to suppose 
that he wrote with a pencil, for convenience, and that he 
had his letters copied in ink, before they went to the press, 
in order to make them more intelligible to the printer, by 
eliminating interlineations, etc. It therefore follows that if 
there was any difference in the handwriting of the ink copy 
of Paine 's letters, and the handwriting of the Junius Letters, 
these circumstances would readily account for it. 



12 



178 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

It is a well-known fact that every distinguished author 
has his peculiar animosities and friendships, which naturally 
crop out on every occasion. Take for example the two 
characters which are now under discussion. Francis was a 
fast and intimate friend of Lord Clive, who was for a long 
time Governor of India; sent there by the English Govern- 
ment, and who built up a very unsavory reputation and an 
immense fortune; and was recalled, to which, I will refer 
more particularly hereafter. Francis frequently visited Lord 
Clive, at his country place, Walcot, England, where he 
seems to have had the "time of his life," as appears from 
one of his letters to his wife. If Francis had been Junius 
he would hardly have been so intimate with any man of such 
a detestable character as Lord Clive, because Junius was al- 
ways eager to lampoon any person connected with the Eng- 
lish Government; so was Paine, who wrote one of the most 
severe and caustic essays I ever read, on the character of 
Lord Clive, which I will here introduce: 

LIFE AND DEATH OF LORD CLIVE 

"Ah! The tale is told — the scene is ended — and the 
curtain falls. As an emblem of the vanity of all earthly 
pomp, let his monument be a globe, but be that globe a 
bubble; let his effigy be a man walking round in his sleep; 
and let Fame, in the character of a shadow, inscribe his 
honors on the air. 

"I view him but as yesterday on the burning plains of 
Plassey, doubtful of life, health or victory. I see him in the 
instant when 'To be or not to be' were equal chances to a 
human eye — to be a Lord or a slave, to return loaded with 
the spoils, or remain mingled with the dust of India. 

"Did necessity always justify the severity of a conqueror 
the rude tongue of censure would be silent, and however 
painfully he might look back on scenes of horror, the pensive 
reflection would not alarm him. Though his feelings suffered, 
his conscience would be acquitted. The sad remembrance 
would move serenely and leave the mind without a wound. 



PART III 179 

"But O India! thou loud proclaimer of European cruel- 
ties! thou bloody monument of unnecessary deaths! be tender 
in the days of inquiry, and show a Christian world thou 
canst suffer and forgive. 

"Departed from India, and loaded with plunder, I see 
him doubling the Cape and looking wistfully to Europe. I 
see him contemplating on years of pleasure, and gratifying 
his ambition with expected honors. I see his arrival pom- 
pously announced in every newspaper, his eager eye ramb- 
ling through the crowd in quest of homage, and his ear list- 
ening lest an applause should escape him. Happily for him 
he arrived before his fame, and the short interval was a 
time of rest. From the crowd I follow him to Court, I see 
him enveloped in the sunshine of sovereign favor, rivaling 
the great in honors, the proud in splendor, and the rich in 
wealth. 

"From the court I trace him to the country; his equip- 
age moves like a camp: every village bell proclaims his com- 
ing, the wondering peasants admire his pomp, and his heart 
runs over with joy. 

"But alas! (not satisfied with unaccountable thousands) 
I accompany him again to India. I mark the variety of 
countenances which appear at his landing — confusion spreads 
the news — every passion seems alarmed — the wailing widow, 
the crying orphan, and the childless parent remember and 
lament; the rival Nabobs court his favor; the rich dread his 
power, and the poor his severity. Fear and terror march 
like pioneers before his camp — murder and rapine accompany 
it — famine and wretchedness follow it in the rear. 

"Resolved on accumulating an unbounded fortune, he 
enters into all the schemes of war, treaty and intrigue. The 
British sword is set up for sale; the heads of contending 
Nabobs are offered at a price, and the bribe taken from 
both sides. Thousands of men or money are trifles in an 
Indian bargain. The field is an empire, and the treasure al- 
most without end. The wretched inhabitants are glad to 
compound for offences never committed, and to purchase at 
any rate the privilege to breathe; while he, the sole lord of 



180 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

their lives and fortunes, disposes of either as he pleases, and 
prepares for Europe. 

"Uncommon fortunes reqmre an uncommon date of life 
to enjoy them. The usual period is spent in preparing to 
live; and unless nature prolongs the time, fortune bestows 
her excess of favors in vain. 

"The Conqueror of the East having nothing more to 
expect from the one, has all his court to make to the other. 
Anxiety for wealth gives place to anxiety for life; and wisely 
recollecting that the sea is no respecter of persons, resolves 
on taking his route to Europe by land. Little beings move 
unseen, or unobserved, but he engrosses whole kingdoms in 
his march, and is gazed at like a comet. The burning 
desert, the pathless mountains, and the fertile valleys, are in 
their turns explored and passed over. No material accident 
distresses his progress, and England once more receives the 
spoiler. 

"How sweet is rest to the weary traveler; the retrospect 
heightens the enjoyment; and if the future prospect be serene 
the days of ease and happiness are arrived. An uninquiring 
observer might have been inclined to consider Lord Clive, 
under all these agreeable circumstances, one whose every 
care was over, and who had nothing to do but sit down and 
say: 'Soul take thine ease, thou hast goods laid up in 
store for many years.' 

"The reception which he met with on his second arrival, 
was in every instance equal, and in many, exceeded, the 
honors of the first. It is the peculiar temper of the English 
to applaud before they think. Generous of their praise, 
they frequently bestow it unworthily; but when once the 
truth arrives, the torrent stops, and rushes back again with 
the same violence. Scarcely had the echo of applause ceased 
upon the ear, than the rude tongue of censure took up the 
tale. The newspapers, fatal enemies to ill-gotten wealth, 
began to buzz a general suspicion of his conduct, and the 
inquisitive public soon refined it into particulars. Every 
post gave a stab to his fame — a wound to his peace — and a 
nail to his coffin. Like spectres from the grave, they haunt- 



PART III 181 

ed him in every company, and whispered murder in his ear. 
A life checkered with uncommon varieties is seldom a long 
one. Action and care will in time wear down the strongest 
frame, but guilt and melancholy are poisons of quick dis- 
patch. 

''Say, cool deliberate reflection, was the prize, though 
abstracted from the guilt, worthy of the pains? Ah! no. 
Fatigued with victory, he sat down to rest, and while he was 
recovering breath, he lost it. A conqueror more fatal than 
himself beset him, and revenged the injuries done to India. 

"As a cure for avarice and ambition let us take a view 
of him in his latter years. Ha! what gloomy being wanders 
yonder? How visibly is the melancholy heart delineated on 
his countenance. He mourns no common care — his very 
steps are timed to sorrow — he trembles with a kind of mental 
palsy. Perhaps it is some broken-hearted parent, some David 
mourning for his son Absalom, or some Heraclitus weep- 
ing for the world. I hear him utter something about wealth — 
perhaps he is poor, and hath not wherewithal to hide his 
head. Some debtor started from his sleepless pillow, to 
ruminate on poverty and ponder on the horrors of a jail. 
Poor man! I'll to him and relieve him. Ha! 'tis Lord 
Clive himself! Bless me, what a change! He makes, I see, 
for yonder cypress shade, a fit scene for melancholy hearts! 
I'll watch him there and listen to his story. Lord Clive 
soliloquizes: 'Can I but suffer when a beggar pities me? 
Ere while I heard a ragged wretch, who every mark of pov- 
erty had on, say to a sooty sweep, "Ah, poor Lord Clive!" 
while he, the negro colored vagrant, more mercifully cruel, 
curst me in my hearing. There was a time when fortune, 
like a yielding mistress, courted me with smiles — she never 
waited to be told my wishes, but studied to discover them, 
and seemed not happy to herself, but when she had some 
favor to bestow. Ah! little did I think the fair enchantress 
would desert me thus; and after lavishing her smiles upon 
me, turn my reproacher, and publish me in folio to the 
world. Volumes of morality are dull and spiritless com- 
pared to me. Lord Clive is himself a treatise upon vanity, 



182 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

printed upon a golden type. The most unlettered clown 
writes explanatory notes thereon, and reads them to his 
children. Yet I could bear these insults could I but bear 
myself. A strange unwelcome something hangs about me. 
In company I seem no company at all. The festive board 
appears to me a stage, the crimson colored port resembles 
blood — each glass is strangely metamorphosed into a man in 
armor, and every bowl appears a Nabob. The joyous toast 
is like the sound of murder, and the loud laughs are the 
groans of dying men. The scenes of India are all rehearsed, 
and no one sees the tragedy but myself. Ah! I discover 
things which are not, and hear unuttered sounds. 

'O peace, thou sweet companion of the calm and inno- 
cent, whither art thou fled? here take my gold, and all the 
world calls mine, and come thou in exchange. O thou, 
thou noisy sweep, who mixeth thy food with the soot and 
relishes it, who canst descend from lofty heights and walk 
the humbler earth again, without repining at the change, 
come teach thy mystery to me. Or thou, thou ragged wan- 
dering beggar, who, when thou canst not beg successfully, 
will pilfer from the hound, and eat the dirty morsel sweetly; 
be thou Lord Clive, and I will beg, so that I may laugh 
like thee. 

'Could I unlearn what I've already learned — ^unact 
what I've already acted — or would some sacred power con- 
vey me back to youth and innocence, I'd act another part — 
I'd keep within the pale of htimble life, nor wish for that 
the world calls pomp. 

But since this cannot be, 
And only a few days and sad, remain for me, 
I'll haste to quit the scene, for what is life, 
When every passion of the soul's at strife?' " 

— (Atlanticus.) 

The English language contains nothing that can com- 
pare with the foregoing essay. Now, if Paine were Junius, 
the above article is in perfect harmony with all his political 
writings, and was in unison with his desire to break down 



PART in 183 

the English Government. And, although he did not sign 
the name of "Common Sense" or any other of his fictitious 
names, to it, he may have had a motive for not doing so. 
He may have desired to create the impression that there 
were other writers who were criticising the Government. 

In April, 1773, a Committee of the House of Commons, 
under the name of the Select Committee, were appointed by 
the House to enquire into the East India affairs, and the con- 
duct of the several Governors of Bengal. The Committee 
having gone through the examination. Gen. Burgoyne, the 
chairman, prefaced their report to the House, informing 
them, "That the reports contained accounts shocking to 
hirnian nature, that the most infamous designs had been 
carried into execution by perfidy and murder." He recapitu- 
lated the wretched situation of the East Indian Princes, who 
held their dignities on the precarious condition of being the 
highest bribers. "No claim, however just on their part," he 
said, "could be admitted without being introduced with enor- 
mous sums of rupees, nor any prince suffered to reign long, 
who did not quadrate with this idea; and that Lord Clive, 
over and above the enormous sums he might with some 
appearance of justice lay claim to, had obtained others to 
which he could have no title." He (General Burgoyne) 
therefore moved, "That it appears to this House, that Robert 
Lord Clive, baron of Plassey, about the time of deposing 
Surajah Dowla, Nabob of Bengal, and establishing Meer 
Jeffier in his room, did, through the influence of the power 
with which he was intrusted, as member of the Select Com- 
mittee in India, and Commander-in-chief of the British forces 
there, obtain and possess himself of two lacks and 80,000 
rupees, as Commander-in-chief; a further sum of 16 lacks of 
rupees, or more, under the denomination of private dona- 
tions; which stuns, amounting together to 20 lacks and 
80,000 rupees, were of the value, in English money, of 
234,000 pounds, and that in so doing, the said Robert Lord 
Clive abused the powers with which he was intrusted, to the 
evil example of the servants of the public." He was dis- 
missed from the service of the Government. 



184 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

Whenever Mr. Paine discovered fraud or dishonesty, he 
did not hestitate to expose it, although it was to his detri- 
ment. In February 1781, the United States sent the well- 
known Silas Deane to France, to procure a loan from the 
Government, to carry on the war with England; in which, 
he was assisted by Dr. Franklin. Afterwards, Col. Laurens, 
of S. C, and Mr. Paine, were sent to aid in the solicitation 
of the loan. They applied to King Louis XVI on the sub- 
ject, and succeeded in getting $2,500,000 in silver, and a 
large amount of army stores, which the King donated to the 
United States, which were shipped and consigned to Silas 
Deane and one Beaumarchais, in order to conceal the facts 
from Great Britain, as requested by Louis XVI, as it was 
somewhat of a secret. Sometime afterwards, Silas Deane pre- 
sented a claim to Congress for payment of the stores, which 
he said were purchased by him and Beaimiarchais from the 
King, which in fact, were taken from the French Arsenal, 
and presented to the United States. 

On pages 461, 462, and 463 of the "Poetical and Miscel- 
laneous Works of Thomas Paine," he explains the trans- 
action; he says: "When I was appointed Secretary to the 
Committee for Foreign Affairs, all the papers of the Secret 
Committee, none of which had been seen by Congress, came 
into my hands. I saw by the correspondence of that Com- 
mittee with persons in Europe, particularly with Arthur Lee, 
that the stores which Deane and Beaimiarchais pretended 
they had purchased, were a present from the Court of France 
and came out of the King's arsenals. Knowing these things, 
and seeing that the public were deceived and imposed upon 
by the pretensions of Deane, I took the subject up, and 
published three pieces in Dunlap's Philadelphia paper, headed 
with the title of 'Common Sense to the Public on Mr. Deane's 
Affairs." John Jay was then President of Congress. 

"After the third piece appeared, I received an order, 
dated Congress, and signed John Jay, that 'Thomas Paine 
do attend at the bar of this house immediately,' which I 
did. Mr. Jay took up a newspaper and said: 'Here is Mr. 
Dunlap's paper of December 29th. In it is a piece entitled 



PART III ■ 185 

"Common Sense to the Public on Mr. Deane's Affairs;" I 
am directed by Congress to ask you if you are the author.' 
'Yes, sir, I am the author of that piece.' Mr. Jay put the 
same question on the other two pieces, and received the 
same answer. He then said, you may withdraw. As soon 
as I was gone, John Penn, of North CaroHna, moved that 
'Thomas Paine be discharged from the office of Secretary to 
the Committee for Foreign Affairs,' and prating Gouvemeur 
Morris seconded the motion, but it was lost when put to 
vote, the States being equally divided. I then wrote to Con- 
gress, requesting a hearing, and Mr. Laurens made a motion 
for that purpose, which was negatived. The next day I sent 
in my resignation, saying that, 'as I cannot, consistently 
with my character as a free man, submit to be censured un- 
heard, therefore, to preserve that character and maintain 
that right, I think it my duty to resign the office of Secre- 
tary to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and I do hereby 
resign the same.' 

"But I still went on with my publications on Deane's 
affairs, till the fraud became so obvious that Congress was 
ashamed of supporting him, and he absconded. He went 
from Philadelphia to Virginia, and took shipping for France, 
and got over to England, where he died. Dr. Cutting told 
me he took poison. 

"However, I prevented Deane's fraudulent demand be- 
ing paid, and so far the country is obliged to me, but I be- 
came the victim of my integrity." 

Paine made it so hot for Deane that he left the country 
because of the intensity of public feeling against him, etc. 

It appears that Mr. Paine was accustomed to attend 
the sessions of Parliament before he left England, and listen 
to the discussions, which, no doubt, Junius frequently did, 
in order to keep posted on what transpired in that body. 
He says: "I remember taking notice of a speech in what is 
called the English House of Peers, by the Earl of Shelboume, 
and I think it was at the time he was Minister, in which he 
said, 'That the form of Government was matter wholly at 



186 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

the will of a Nation, at all times; that if it chose a Mon- 
archical form, it had the right to have it so, and if it after- 
wards chose to be a Republic, it had a right to be a Repub- 
lic; and to say to a King: 'We have no longer any occasion 
for you.' " 

Junius and Paine were in hearty accord with the Earl 
of Shelbourne in his doctrine, while Francis was not; he was 
a staunch royalist, and at that time was in the employment 
of the Government, as a Clerk in the War Office. 

My readers have, no doubt, observed that Mr. Paine 
frequently uses the word "hath" for "has." I regard it as a 
kind of idiom, peculiar to the Quakers, and, quite naturally, 
young Paine contracted the habit from his father of using 
the word "hath" for "has." Junius very rarely used this 
mode of expression. I conceive that he had a motive for 
not doing so. It might have betrayed his identity, which he 
strenuously endeavored to conceal. His near friends and 
classmates would probably have detected him, by this pecu- 
liar manner of expressing himself, and have traced him to 
his Quaker origin, and, in this way, have discovered his 
identity with Junius. But Paine as Junius, had no such 
motive for not using the word "hath" in his writings, after 
he came to America, as none of his old friends or classmates 
were here; he was among strangers, and had no fears of 
detection from strangers. No doubt, he used the word 
"hath" in his writings, in America, partly because it im- 
parted a kind of euphony to them, and a certain novelty in 
America, which helped to give tone and prominence to his 
pamphlets. 

Lest I tax the patience of my readers, I will not at- 
tempt a recapitulation of the many instances of similarity 
and sameness, which I have shown to exist between the 
writings and characteristics of Junius and Paine, but will 
refer to only a few of the more prominent examples above 
mentioned. 

Their sententious and epigrammatic style of expression; 
their searching interrogations; their beautiful metaphors; 



PART III 187 

their caustic sarcasms; their bitter irony; their cruel invec- 
tives; their apposite antitheses; their rhythmic mode of ex- 
pression; their unity of purpose to be accompHshed; their 
hatred of a Monarchy and oppression, and their love of a 
Republic and liberty of the people, all conspire to prove the 
fact that Junius and Paine were identically the same person 
— of course we must take into consideration the circum- 
stance that the Junius Letters were written in London, and 
Paine's pamphlets "Common Sense," were written in Amer- 
ica, but both of them were directed against the same King, 
Ministry and Parliament, under a somewhat different con- 
dition of things. 

I have omitted to state one fact and argument which 
naturally weighs very considerably in favor of Mr. Paine 
as a writer, when compared with Mr. Francis. It is the 
difference in their respective ages when the Junius Letters 
were begun August 10, 1768. Paine was bom on January 
29th, 1737, and Francis was bom on October 22nd, 1740; 
therefore Paine was nearly four years older than Francis at 
the time when the Junius Letters were begun, which we all 
know, gave him much more experience, much greater knowl- 
edge and much more maturity in mind and thought than 
Francis possessed, who was nearly four years younger than 
Paine. Francis was in his 2Sth year, and Paine was in his 
32nd year, when the JUNIUS LETTERS were commenced. 
Francis was too young to have written them. Paine was 
fully young to have been the author of these remarkable 
letters. 

During the year 1786, Paine completed all he had to do 
in America. The war had been ended, and peace restored. 
An exemplary government had been formed, in all of its 
departments, with a model Constitution which incorporated 
all of the thirteen Colonies in one whole, under the name of 
the United States of America, in all of which he actively 
participated. Then, like Junius, when he had finished his 
labors in England, as far as it was possible for him to do, 
again "Othello's occupation was gone," and he turned his 
thoughts to some other country for the exercise of his genius. 



188 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

On the 16th day of April, 1787, he sailed for France, 
where the Revolution was in progress, and witnessed the 
taking of the Bastille. The subsequent year, Edmund Burke, 
then England's greatest statesman, wrote his "Reflections 
on the French Revolution," in which he treated the subject 
at great length, and censured it very severely. Paine was 
particularly conservative on the plan to aboUsh the French 
Monarchy, and replace it with a republican form of govern- 
ment, because he feared that radicalism would be a bad ex- 
ample to set before the people. Soon thereafter, Mr. Paine 
returned to England, and wrote an answer of 270 pages, 
called "The Rights of Man," to Burke's "Reflections," in 
which he vigorously combatted his arguments, strongly advo- 
cated a republican form of government, and bitterly de- 
nounced a Monarchy, especially England. This was one 
of the ablest documents which ever came from his pen. He 
almost demolished the argiunents of Mr. Burke. History 
says that one hundred thousand copies of the "Rights of 
Man" went into the hands of the people. Everybody read 
it with profound interest. It carried consternation to the 
King, the Ministry and the Parliament. Immediately the 
Government took it up. Many persons were fined and im- 
prisoned for publishing the work, and Mr. Paine was prose- 
cuted, tried and convicted as the author, by a violently 
prejudiced judge and jury, and an order for his immediate 
arrest was issued, but having been elected as a representative 
to the National Assembly of France, by the Department of 
Calais, he hurriedly left England in September, 1792, and 
never returned. Within half an hour after his departure 
from Dover, Paine would have been taken into custody, 
carried to London and probably been confined in the Tower 
for life. Although he had escaped a grave misfortune, yet, 
he had a great and perilous work before him, as a member 
of the National Assembly of France, where he co-operated 
in the overthrow of the Monarchy, and the establishment of 
a Republic in its stead. 

On taking his seat in the Assembly, he made a short 
address, outlining the trials and troubles ahead of them, 



PART III 189 

in order to achieve their independence, and enjoy the price- 
less blessings of liberty. Mr. Paine was one of nine men 
appointed by the Assembly to draft a new Constitution. 
Charges were soon brought against King Louis XVI and he 
was brought to trial; he was found guilty and condemned to 
die. This was a sore trouble to Mr. Paine, and he used all 
his arts of persuasive oratory to prevent the King from be- 
ing executed; but advocated "Killing the Monarchy, but 
sparing the Monarch," and suggested that he be exiled and 
sent to America to be held there, where he would be kindly 
treated. Paine had not forgotten that this same King, at 
his and Col. Laurens's request, had lent to America $2,500,000 
when she was struggling for her independence against the 
tyranny of Great Britain, and which secured her the victory. 
This noble act sounded Paine's death-knell in the As- 
sembly. He was looked upon with suspicion by such radi- 
cals as Marat and Robespierre. Soon after, an order was 
made by the Assembly, that all foreign-born members should 
be expelled, and that all persons born in England, should be 
imprisoned, which included Paine; and he was, by order of 
Robespierre, arrested and thrown in the Luxembourg prison, 
where he was confined for nearly a year. It is without the 
scope of this book to go into details of what happened dur- 
ing the "Reign of Terror" in France. The reader will have 
to consult history for that. However, I will relate some 
circumstances which appertain personally to Mr. Paine, and 
are germane to my subject. Here is what he says, very 
much abbreviated: "There were but two foreigners in the 
Convention, Anarcharsis Clootz and myself. We were both 
put out of the Convention by the same vote, arrested by 
the same order, and carried to prison the same night. He 
was taken to the guillotine and I was left. One hundred and 
sixty-eight prisoners were taken out of the Liixembourg pris- 
on in one night, and one hundred and sixty of them guillo- 
tined the next day, of which I know that I was to have been 
one, and the manner I escaped that fate is curious, and has 
all the appearance of accident. When persons, by scores 
and hundreds, were to be taken out of prison for guillotine, 



190 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

it was always done in the night, and those who performed 
that office had a private mark, or signal, by which they 
knew what rooms to go to, and what niimber to take. We 
were number four, and the door of our room was marked, 
imobserved by us, with that niunber in chalk; but it hap- 
pened, if happening is a proper word, that the mark was 
put on when the door was open, and flat against the wall, 
and thereby came on the inside when we shut it at night, 
and the destroying angel passed by it. A few days after 
this, Robespierre fell, and the American Ambassador arrived 
and reclaimed me, and invited me to his house. The Ameri- 
cans in Paris went in a body to the Convention to reclaim 
me, but without success." 

While in prison, he was seized by a violent fever, which 
came very near ending his life, but he attributes his escape 
from the guillotine to his serious illness, in part, as he was 
too low to be moved, when others were taken. He was out 
of his mind for nearly a month, during which time Robes- 
pierre fell, which fact was the first thing communicated to 
him. About a week after this, Mr. Monroe arrived from 
America, to supersede Gouvemeur Morris, as Minister to 
France, and two months thereafter Paine was liberated, 
through the efforts of Mr. Monroe, who took him to his 
home, where he was a guest for some time; when, by a 
unanimous vote of the Convention, he was invited to resimie 
his seat in that body, and which he did for a while. Had 
the Convention, while Robespierre was in power, listened to 
Paine's conservative advice, France would have been spared 
much cruelty and suffering; the "Reign of Terror" would 
never have been inaugurated; and she would have enjoyed 
a permanent republican form of government. 

After quitting the Convention, he occupied himself in 
writing very important works, some of which were: "A 
Dissertation on the First Principles of Government," "Agra- 
rian Justice Opposed to Agrarian Law" and to "Agrarian 
Monopoly." Also "The Decline and Fall of the English 
Government." 



PART III 191 

He was detained longer in France than he desired, owing 
to the fact that he could not get safe passage to the United 
States. He made several efforts, but found that England 
had officers on the look-out, to make his arrest. Finally he 
found a safe opportunity, and sailed for America on Septem- 
ber 2, 1802, after an absence of fifteen years. 

After his return, he led a very quiet and retired life, 
most of the time using his pen to good purpose. But his 
health was greatly impaired from his imprisonment in the 
Luxembourg prison. In America he was welcomed by many 
of the best citizens and officers of the Government, especially 
DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New Jersey, and Mr. Jefferson, 
then President, who received him "With joy and gratula- 
tion." "A large public dinner was held in his honor," "and 
other demonstrations of joy at his return were evinced in 
New York." Paine's financial circumstances were very good. 
He owned the estate at New Rochelle, New York, besides 
other property, of which he wrote his friend Clio Rickman: 
"My property in this country has been taken care of by my 
friends, and is now worth 6000 pounds sterling; and will 
bring me 400 pounds sterling a year." He wrote a series 
of very able "Letters to the Citizens of the United States of 
America, after an absence of fifteen years," seven bitter 
letters against the Federal Party, and many others. 

Naturally, Paine made many political enemies in the 
course of his aggressive writings. Most of his attacks, like 
those of Junius, were directed against the nobility of Eng- 
land, consequently they contributed everything in their pow- 
er to detract from the influence of Paine, and the efficacy 
of his voluminous and powerful works. He, as well as Jun- 
ius, was a true friend of the people, whom the Government 
of England was systematically oppressing, and they, in turn, 
were the friends and admirers of Paine and Junius. Paine 
and Junius evidently came from the humbler walks of life. 
They were real prodigies of human nature, whose like has 
not been seen since their day and time. 

They both wrote under an assvuned name and concealed 
their identity most carefully, in which they had the same 



192 JUNIUS FINALLY DISCOVERED 

motives: Junius to escape arrest and punishment in England, 
and Paine in America. Both entertained the same ideas on 
government; they hated a monarchy and strongly advocated 
a republican form of government. Both employed the same 
style, thought and subject matter in their writings; which 
is apparent on a comparison of the Letters of Junius with 
the Pamphlets of Paine ; they have the same kindred features, 
which betray the same paternity. They had the same friend- 
ships and animosities; they were loyal to their friends and 
implacable to their enemies. They preserved the same dig- 
nity and gravity in their writings, and never indulged in the 
least levity. They were punctilious on questions of truth 
and honor, and never departed from either. They both led 
secluded, simple and economical lives, and avoided all pub- 
lic notoriety. They were exceedingly secretive in all their 
relations of life, and resented any inquiry into their private 
affairs. Both refused to accept any emoluments from their 
public writings, but let all go for the benefit of the cause 
which they espoused. Both were comfortable in their finan- 
cial matters, and contributed liberally to advance the inter- 
ests of the people. Their associates were among the plain 
people, and they eschewed the society of would-be aristoc- 
racy. Both had fair educations, to an extent, classical. 
They were well read and informed, had full command of the 
English language and were fair Latin scholars. Both were 
bold and fearless in their writings, and were not actuated by 
any motive of policy. 

I conscientiously believe that I have adduced abundant 
evidence to prove that Francis was not the author, but that 
Thomas Paine was the real author of the JUNIUS LETTERS. 

If any of my readers wish to challenge any position 
which I have taken in this controversy, and will write me, 
I will take pleasure in endeavoring to answer him. Possibly, 
I owe my readers an apology for elaborating this discussion 
so much, but I conceive it to be incumbent upon me to 
strengthen every redoubt which an ambitious critic might 
attack. 



PART m 193 

In conclusion of the disquisition of this subject, I will 
tender my thanks to those who have followed me through 
the discussion of this intricate question; and, if my efforts 
shall merit their approbation, I shall feel amply repaid for 
all the pains I have taken, in my search after truth, to 
prove my contention, that Thomas Paine was the real author 
of the Junius Letters. 

I beg the reader to remember that Thomas Paine contri- 
buted in every way in his power, to secure the independence 
and liberty which we are now enjoying. Let us forget his 
few errors, and remember his many shining virtues. "To 
err is human, to forgive is Divine." 

In final conclusion, I will add a few original lines, ex- 
pressing my idea of the perpetuity of his name: 

No marble shaft, or storied urn, 
Need mark his resting place; 
His works perpetuate his name. 
Which time cannot efface. 

ESTO PERPETUA. 

THE AUTHOR. 
Birmingham, Ala., 1916. 



